


Ask Serena

by yugoslavia



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-12 18:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 24,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7944139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yugoslavia/pseuds/yugoslavia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone has something planned to do on the resort island of Costa Nova except for Serena. When faced with crushing boredom, Serena decides to run a blog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

An endless expanse of blue sky glowed over the coastal scenery of Costa Nova, the small set of islands surrounded on all sides by deep blue Kalos sea. The dark outline of the Kalos stood on the horizon, far away and masked by the blue haze of sky. Fletchling fluttered by, chirping their morning song as the white disc of the sun reached the center of the heavens.

On the raised plateau of the main island mass, an elegant hotel stood, just above the pure white beaches that lined the outside of the island. The warm, sleepy city of the mainland stood nearby, close to the hotel.

\---

**Having spent a length of time traveling through the Kalos region, our heroes have decided to take a break in the tropical refuge of Costa Nova, an island hub just south of the Kalos region, hoping to find some rest and relaxation.**

**Bonnie and Serena, having spent the night in a resort on Costa Nova, have taken it upon themselves to get some extra rest and relaxation before their day begins. A treasure trove of mystery and adventure awaits them just outside their room!**

\---

In the window of one of the hotel rooms, Dedenne pressed his fat face to the window, his tiny eyes shimmering at the sight of the many people and Pokemon on the beach several stories below. Turning his head beside him, peeking his head out of the curtain, he chirped something muffled by the window, calling to someone.

Beside him, the pale, sunlit curtains shuffled and fluttered lightly as another figure appeared. Bonnie popped her head up beneath the curtains, her tiny hands finding the ledge of the window and hoisting body up just enough for her head to peek over. Her eyes widened, a quiet gasp leaving her as she gazed down at the beachgoers, seeing all the fun things they were doing at the beach.

In the hotel room, Bonnie snuck her head back under the curtain, looking through the dim light of the hotel. She hopped up and grabbed the edge of the curtain, tugging it to the side and opening the curtains wide, sunlight pouring through and into the hotel.

"Agh!"

Bonnie's head whipped around, looking surprised. In the bright, sunlit hotel room, she saw the two beds: one with the blankets tossed about and Bonnie-sized clothes covering it, and another with an extra layer of blankets, a figure buried deep in the blankets, turned away from the window with a pillow covering her head.

It was Serena.

Ignoring Serena, giving a tiny scowl, Bonnie headed over to the desk in the hotel, grabbing the chair by the head and tugging as hard as she could to pull it out. The wooden legs dragged over the carpet flooring softly, Bonnie's groans and grunts far louder than the shuffling chair. Dedenne promptly dropped down from the ledge, coming to Bonnie's side to help her move the chair from out of the slot in the desk.

"Bonnie... Are you moving furniture...?" Serena groaned, her voice muffled by the pillow and her own exhaustion.

Once Bonnie had propped the chair's back against the back wall and the hotel room's AC unit, she hopped onto the cushion, half squatting as she used a chair arm to prop herself up, looking over to Serena. Dedenne scrampered across the floor, hopping onto the bed and then hopping onto the chair's arm, climbing onto the chair's backrest and sitting himself beside Bonnie's head.

"I want to see the beach," said Bonnie. "Kinda hard to do that when we're stuck in this hotel," she said, rolling her eyes.

Serena rolled over in bed, her arm flopping across the queen-sized length of her bed. She squinted beneath a layer of matted blonde hair, her head half-exposed from beneath a pillow. Seeing Bonnie and Dedenne's silhouette matted against the glowing portal of the window, she forced her eyes shut from the blinding lights, knocking the pillow on her head away.

"Are you going to sleep all day?" Bonnie whined, slouching against the back of the chair, her arms folded and resting on the top of the chair's back as she gazed longingly out the window.

"Of course not, there's lot to do," said Serena. She sat herself upright stretching her arms wide and letting out a quiet yawn, covering her mouth for just a moment. When she opened her eyes, she oriented herself to her surroundings, staring tiredly out at all the different amenities of their hotel room.

"Well, you can cross off the morning then, sleepyhead," said Bonnie.

Giving Bonnie a frown, Serena turned her head, looking over at the alarm clock on the nightstand between hers and Bonnie's bed. The clock read '11:02 AM'.

Serena's eyes widened.

Just then, a knock came from the door to the hotel. Serena, Bonnie and Dedenne turned their heads, staring at hotel door at the far end of the room.

Reaching for the corner of her bedsheets, Serena pulled them away. Her back rose from the bed easily, her movements surprisingly refreshed from a night of sleep that hadn't been on the ground. As she took a moment, sitting on the edge of the bed and yawning softly, her eyes blinking away sleep, the jarring, sudden thump from the other side of the room snapped her attention away from the corners of the hotel ceiling. She watched Bonnie land from the chair, Dedenne racing after her as she quickly crossed the hotel room and headed for the door.

"I got it!" Bonnie called, running towards the door.

"No, Bonnie, wait!" Serena called. Her bare feet touched down on the carpet. She straightened the tanktop she wore, pulling it closer to her waist. As she walked quickly, rounding the bed, she smoothed her hair behind her, brushing the loose hair from out of her eyes and crossing along the large, dresser and TV stand at the front of the room.

Bonnie stopped just short of the bathroom door, turning and looking back at Serena. She looked slightly worried and confused, looking down at Dedenne as he met her with the same look of confusion.

"Serena, don't you think it's probably Ash or Clemont or something?" asked Bonnie.

On the counter, beside the TV and the personal coffee maker, Serena had set her traveling bag the night before. A few of her Pokeballs rested in front, sitting sideways and lingering. Reaching up, Serena picked out a Pokeball. She clicked the release on the Pokeball, firing the thin red capture beam onto the carpet, where moments later Pancham materialized. Paying little attention to Pancham's confused calls as hefor a Pokemon to battle and getting acclimated to the indoor space, Serena held the Pokeball at her side as she walked, heading towards the front door.

"Hotels are different than tents, Bonnie," Serena chided. Behind her, she beckoned Pancham a little closer, getting him to follow as she approached the door. Getting up on the tips of her toes, she shut an eye and forced the open one up close to the thin brass-rimmed aperture of the door, looking through the small hole. No one was on the other side.

Down by Serena, Bonnie sat herself down on the floor, leaning against the closet door, watching curiously as Serena leaned herself against the door and opened it slowly. Her expression slowly turned to worry, then surprise as Dedenne hopped into her lap. She wrapped her arms around his tiny body, feeling him quietly chitter.

The hotel room door swung open gently. Serena's head poked through, her fingers curling on the edge of the door. Her curious eyes wandered the corridor, her head leaning far enough out to see the rest of the hall, seeing that no one was in any part of the hotel.

Between Serena's naked ankles, Pancham popped out, launching himself onto the floor of the corridor. His fiery eyes darted each which way, his paws curled into fists by his side, his arms hoisted up and ready to pummel the first Pokemon he saw. As he quickly turned from side to side, looking down either side of the hall, he realized he was alone. He stopped in his tracks, frozen in mild embarrassment, realizing there was nothing. As he searched the floor, he realized he was standing beside something unusual. He gasped, making an unusual, loud sound of surprise.

Serena looked down too. She gasped.

A package had been set on the floor. It was fairly large, wide and short. A white sticker had been affixed to the package, Serena's name and the address of the resort written on it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you going to open it?"

"No!" Serena protested, sighing in exasperation. She shook her head, running her hands through her hair. She sat on the edge of her bed, the package sitting at her side on the lumpy surface of the comforter.

Bonnie, laying on her belly, kicking her feet behind her, held her head in her hands. Pouting, she gave a passing glance to Dedenne as he rolled on his back, trying to itch a scratch, keeping her focus on the package by Serena's side.

"Why not? What's so dangerous about it? It's just a package. Maybe it's something cool!" said Bonnie.

"It's... It's just so weird..." said Serena. "I mean, it's a package delivered to a hotel we've stayed a single night in, let alone a day, on an island we've never been to. Who could possibly know we're here?"

"Maybe it's from your mom," Bonnie shrugged. "You tell her everything."

"Why would she send a package here? Why not send it to Professor Sycamore?" Serena shot Bonnie an annoyed glance. "And I don't tell her 'everything'."

"Then how come you write so much about Ash?" Bonnie said, a sly grin appearing on her features. "I think that says a lot—" Bonnie was cut off. A flying pillow from Serena's bed clipped her in the face, knocking her sideways. She groaned, resting on her back and rubbing her eyes, frowning in annoyance.

Serena gave Bonnie the nastiest of looks. "Go take a shower... Or a bath. Whatever. Just... Please clean yourself."

As Bonnie flipped herself over, bouncing once on the bed before sliding down to the floor, landing on her feet with a gentle thump, she walked over, passing Serena on the bed.

"How come? I don't usually shower or anything when we're out."

"Exactly," Serena said, bitingly. "Go clean yourself."

\---

Alone in the small hotel room, Serena could hear the sounds of the shower running, Bonnie talking to herself in the echoing chamber of the bathroom. At the bathroom door, Dedenne pawed softly, whimpering.

In Serena's lap, she rested the box over her legs. A thin pair of scissors lay at her side. She picked them up.

The brown tape on the package shredded easily, the metal edge of the scissors working in and cutting open the box with a few light snips. The flaps of the box opened up, and once Serena had set down her scissors, she went about opening the box, pulling open the flaps wide. She rooted through the vast amount of white foam packing peanuts, reaching down until she felt the bottom of the box. Feeling around it, Serena frowned, realizing there was another box inside. She grabbed both ends, lifting the second box out, watching as foam peanuts spilled out over the edge.

Taking the package from the box, setting it in her lap and setting the foam-filled shipping box aside, Serena took a moment to inspect the unusual packaging. She gazed at the surface of the simple, wide box, seeing the brown logo in the center: a Pokeball, with a series of arcing lines inside of it—a Wi-Fi symbol. She cut the small plastic seals at the bottom of the box, carefully lifting the lid of the box.

A sheet of foam covered the contents. Removing the translucent layer, Serena unveiled a wide, chocolatey-brown, metallic case of a device. A cream-colored Pokeball had been engraved in the center of the shell-like surface. She set the box and the device aside, then lifted the device up and set it down in her lap where it seemed to rest most naturally. She reached beneath the lid, raising the screen and opening up the device. A black screen beneath the lid appeared, an array of cream-colored keys constituting a keyboard and trackpad beneath.

"A laptop...?" Serena breathed incredulously.

Her fingers glided over the smooth surface, feeling how good the inner surface felt, the smooth faux wood grain cool to the touch. The keys fit naturally beneath her fingers, her hands arched over the keys, poised to type. She held herself back for a moment, realizing just how excited she was.

Reaching down, Serena tapped the power button.

The screen flared to life, a small motor whirring inside. Electrical clicks sounded within the plastic casing, familiar computing sounds that Serena had heard before. The deep black of the screen flashed a glowing gray, a small wheel turning in the center as it booted up.

A cream-colored screen appeared, brown text popping up in the center of the screen.

'Welcome!'


	3. Chapter 3

Dedenne had fallen asleep just outside the bathroom door, now snoozing slouched against the door. The sounds of Bonnie humming and singing lightly to herself as the shower ran came from beneath the bathroom door, echoing off the walls.

Still alone in the hotel room, Serena chewed her lip as she looked at the laptop, still confused and unsure as to what to do. She had set it up on the desk in the corner of the room, the lamp beside it glowing warmly. The laptop screen glowed, the cream-colored desktop waiting for her.

Sighing, Serena went to the window, taking the chair that Bonnie had propped against the lower wall and putting it back in front of the desk. She immediately sat herself down in it, already looking somewhat exasperated with the computer.

Serena slipped her hands into her lap, her posture uncomfortable as she stared at the screen, continuing to chew her lip and wonder silently. She slouched away from the computer, but couldn't take her eyes away. She looked over to the bathroom in the corner of the hotel often, hearing the muffled sounds of Bonnie talking to herself beneath the bathroom walls, before looking back to the laptop.

"Where did you come from…?" Serena asked quietly.

A lightbulb went off in Serena's head, a look of realization dawning on her. She took the trackpad, mousing over to the bottom corner of the screen, opening up a menu and looking at the Recently Used applications.

A document appeared on the list. It was titled 'Serena'.

Serena gasped, sitting herself back suddenly. She felt her heart fall through her stomach.

It took a split second for Serena to change from being freaked out to being plain confused. Her eyes narrowed at the little listing on the screen, looking at it as though it were a wart. She took the trackpad again, double-clicking the document.

The screen flashed, a new window appearing. A digital page appeared in the word processor. A thin line of text had been written.

'Write something!'

Serena took several seconds to look at the line. She reread it a dozen times, her eyes racing back and forth over the two words. Her fingers traced down the trackpad, scrolling to the bottom of the document and seeing that there wasn't anything else written. When she looked back at the list of Recently Used applications, it was the only item listed. Nothing else had been used on the laptop before.

Pausing, Serena's eyes widened as the same confusion she had grew deeper. She retracted her hands slowly, pulling them into her lap and letting them rest there as she sat herself against the back of the chair. She seemed dejected as her mind raced with all the different possible meanings that could have, why it had appeared on her laptop and who could possibly have written such a weird thing.

Just as she was thinking, the bathroom door opened. Bonnie stepped out, having dressed herself, wielding a large towel that had been wrapped around her head. As she kept her eyes up and on the bundled towel, her hands holding it up and trying to keep it balanced, she kept walking, nearly stepping on Dedenne several times who kept coming around her legs, rubbing his nose on her knees in an attempt to get her attention.

"Hey, so you did open that box!" Bonnie gasped, pointing to the laptop in front of Serena.

Serena, deep in thought, had to look at what Bonnie was pointing at. She turned and looked at the laptop, then back at Bonnie, before suddenly realizing what was happening. She let out a yelp, throwing her arms out and slamming the laptop lid shut.

"Hey—I mean—Bonnie!" Serena protested, watching Bonnie run up to her side.

"Whoa! A laptop? How did you get that?"

"It's not—I mean—Stop it!"

As Bonnie reached up towards the desk, trying to grab at the laptop, Serena pushed against the towel covering Bonnie's head, being all she needed to do to stop her from advancing on her. Gritting her teeth, grunting out in annoyance, she fought off Bonnie's flailing arms as Bonnie tried to swat Serena's arm away.

"Come on Serena! Let me see it!"

"Stop it! You're wet!" Serena groaned.

After continuing to fight Bonnie off, Serena yanked the towel away from Bonnie's head, tossing it to the floor beside her. She then froze, gasping in fear.

Bonnie's wet, blonde hair stood up vertically, slicked into weird, Medusa-like curls. Her hair slowly fell down, lowering in all directions, turning into a mess of spiky hair.

At Serena's gasp, Bonnie's eyes darted up. She froze, closing an eye as a few locks of her bangs fell down over her brow. She then looked at Serena in total confusion, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"What?"

"Your hair…!"

"What's wrong with my hair?" Bonnie asked, slightly fearful.

"It's… It's not dry all the way! You're not going out like that, are you…?"

"What? Oh," Bonnie snickered, grinning snidely. "Yeah! It's my new look," she said, running her hands up the sides of her head and styling her wet locks into a single vertical point, looking like a blonde scoop of soft-serve.

Serena shook her head, getting up and taking the laptop with her. "Go dry your hair," she said.

Kneeling down, Bonnie reached for a small bag she had set down beneath her bed, right beside where Dedenne was slouched against the foot of the bed. She grabbed for a small pink brush, messing up the vertical stack of hair she had created and taking a length into her fist, brushing her hair.

"Come on Serena, you didn't honestly think I was going out like this, were you?" asked Bonnie.

Serena placed the laptop on top of the TV at the front of the room, far out of Bonnie's reach. She then took the box she had placed on her bed, collecting loose foam peanuts and throwing them back in the box. She set the box back on the TV.

"I've been surprised before," Serena sighed.

\---

The bathroom door swung open, a cloud of steam exiting through the opening as Serena stepped out. Clutching a towel under her arms, wrapped around her freshly showered body, she narrowed her eyes as she looked through the room.

Though the room was fairly messy, Bonnie had cleaned up her side of the room, making her bed and putting her clothes away. Serena's bed had yet to be made. The room was empty, both Bonnie and Dedenne having left.

As she briefly considered where Bonnie might have gone, Serena crossed the room, going down to the drawers beneath the TV, opening them up and pulling out one of the identical pink blouses she had folded inside, taking it and laying it on the top of the TV stand. She rooted through her bottom drawer, grabbing a pair of stockings and other amenities.

As she stood up, Serena gazed at her warped reflection in the TV screen. As she looked at the top of it, she saw the laptop was still there, a single white LED pulsing softly as the laptop slept.

"'Write something'…" Serena repeated the cryptic words to herself, under her breath.

Taking the laptop, Serena crossed the room, sitting herself on the edge of the bed. She rested the laptop in her lap, tugging the edge of the towel up to her knees and protecting the underside of the laptop from her wet skin. She opened the lid, facing the glowing screen towards her face.

The same document was open. The words 'Write Something' stared her down.

Curious, Serena ran her fingers over the trackpad, moving the cursor up to the top of the screen. As she looked at different options, she found herself looking at a new listing: 'New Document'. She paused, staring at where her cursor highlighted it.

"But what will I write…?" Serena asked herself.

After a long pause, she pressed the trackpad. The screen returned with a new digital page, blank and devoid of the seemingly taunting words.

Serena stared down at her hands. Her fingers hovered over the keys of the laptop, poised at the home keys. Looking up at the screen, a tiny black marker on the document blinked steadily, waiting for her to type something.

Taking a breath, Serena began to write.

\---

_Hi! My name is Serena._

\---

Serena smiled. "That wasn't so hard."

Her fingers tapped on the keys, adding to the sentence.

\---

_And I'm not used to getting surprise packages._

\---

Just then, the front door to the hotel room swung open. Bonnie stepped through, beaming with excitement.

"Serena! They have an ice machine on this floor! It's like right next to our room!"

"Dedenedenedene!" Dedenne squealed, popping through the door just beneath Bonnie.

Serena shrieked, tugging the towel up over herself closer, trying to cover herself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Serena, how come you're so boring?"

Serena looked up at Bonnie. Beneath a raised mug of iced coffee, Serena paused in her sip, staring at where Bonnie sat across from her for several long seconds. She tipped the glass up, drinking silently before carefully setting the glass mug on the papery coaster on the table.

"What do you mean...?" Serena asked, looking deeply worried.

Beneath one of the many tall plaza buildings in the central city of Costa Nova, the Cafe Luxe took up the bottom floor of the corner. A luxurious, elegant and simple cafe, Serena and Bonnie had grabbed a table close to the edge of the restaurant, eating breakfast beside one of the large open archways that opened up into the street, one of the many open archways that lined the cafe on either side.

Bonnie's plate sat largely empty, covered in small crumbs. Half of a skinned orange remained on the plate. Bonnie had set the plate aside, instead choosing to hunch over the small cafe table, drawing with a crayon on the wax paper covering. With an orange crayon gripped in her fist, she traced a cartoon Dedenne using only her imagination, working on the outline. Her face was inches from the drawing as she hunched over, her eyes carefully studying every line she drew, her whole body seemingly invested in the creation of the drawing, her legs kicking playfully beneath her.

"I mean, I just was thinking that on the way down here from the resort," said Bonnie, continuing to stare at her drawing. "You just... You just really seem scared by that laptop, and for no reason. You know?"

"But don't you think it's weird?" Serena asked, sitting forward in her chair as she watched Bonnie. "Doesn't it bother you a little bit? That one document had my name on it!"

A beat of silence passed, filled with the hasty scribbling that came from Bonnie's end of the table where she scribbled with a crayon on the wax paper, the sounds of muffled conversations in the cafe and the serene sounds of street activity next to the open patio they sat on. As Serena stared ahead, a look of dissatisfaction on her face, she reached for the ceramic set of cream and sugar, yanking out a pink sugar packet and hastily tearing it open over her coffee, dumping it in. She stirred in silence, brow furrowed as she stirred with a thin black straw.

Down beneath the table, Dedenne pawed at the leg of Bonnie's chair, head turned towards the street as he watched a trainer and her Meowth fumble with a bike lock. An empty plate full of Pokepuff crumbs sat by his feet, the matching purple and pink crumbs plastered over his face.

Serena gave a passing glance down to Dedenne, considering the situation but turning back to her own plate. Her omelette had hardly been touched, only a few bites carved out of the side, chunks of bell pepper and mushroom sticking out of the cheese and egg confection. Running her tongue along her teeth, she could feel the garnishes that had set in on the smooth surface, lifting her napkin from her lap and wiping them away. As she did, she gave a passing glance to Bonnie's main plate, where even the syrup of her pancakes had been scraped away, her glass of orange juice nearly empty.

Sighing, Serena sat back, folding her arms, looking out at the sunny day just outside the dim shade of the cafe.

"You can't just call people 'boring'," said Serena. "That's very rude Bonnie."

"Yeah, well, Clemont says it's more rude to reject a gift."

"Bonnie, we don't know it's a gift!" Serena snapped, sounding exasperated.

Bonnie jumped back, silently surprised. Down beneath the table, as her chair squeaked in surprise, Dedenne yelped, rattling his plate of food that had been stashed beneath the table. Scowling, Bonnie grabbed the seat of her chair, kicking her legs until the chair scooted back in. She threw aside the purple crayon she had snapped, instead grabbing a red crayon to color in the cheeks.

"Sorry Bonnie, I know things are different when you're young, but older kids worry about a lot more things."

"You're not that much older than me," Bonnie mumbled.

Serena turned to Bonnie, looking annoyed. "Alright, what would you do in this situation?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I don't know. I think I would take the gift."

"Okay, but why?"

"'Why'? I mean, I don't know. Why does everything have to have a reason with you?" Bonnie shot Serena an annoyed look. "Some things just 'are', you know?"

"Just..." Serena sighed. "Can you please just give me one?"

Bonnie paused, looking up at Serena. Instead of answering Serena, she set down her crayon, reaching for her orange half and picking it up off the plate, holding it in front of Serena. She peeled off a slice, eating it, swallowing and then waving it up in front of Serena to make sure she was paying attention.

"See this orange?" asked Bonnie. "Remember when I asked for oranges and the waitress lady said they were out?"

Serena narrowed her eyes. "Yeah... I do actually... Where did you get that?'

"Well, I went to the bathroom, and outside the bathroom the garbage can was full of oranges!"

Serena made a face, shrinking back and sticking her tongue out. "Bonnie, that's disgusting."

"No Serena, it's okay!" said Bonnie. "This one had fallen on the floor, and I washed it out in the sink!"

"Bonnie, I'm serious. You really should throw that out."

"Serena, you're missing the point! The point isn't how I got the orange, it's that now Dedenne and I have delicious orange slices!" Bonnie said, visibly beaming. She kicked her legs, peeling off another orange slice. "I wasn't expecting an orange, and now I have one, and it's great!" she exclaimed, popping another slice into her mouth, chewing happily.

Serena sighed. She hung her head over the table, her hands reaching up and massaging her eyes as she thought.

"Bonnie, that's the opposite of your point," said Serena. "That's like, helping my point. Just because something seems good doesn't actually mean it's good. There are plenty of things that seem good at first but have bad intentions."

"I know that not all food is healthy for you," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes. "I'm just saying... You know... Live a little! Don't be boring! Consider the... um... flowers of the... um... planter box?"

Serena sighed. "'The lilies of the field', I know."

Another beat of silence passed. Bonnie finished coloring in the potato-shaped Dedenne, now drawing a large talk balloon beside Dedenne, trying to cram in all the words before she hit the border of the talk bubble. Behind Dedenne, several gray rectangles representing buildings had been drawn, with one of them in Dedenne's hand, ripped from the ground. She had drawn half a fire, and she picked it back up as soon as she finished the talk balloon.

Having taken another stab at eating her omelet, Serena wiped her mouth with the napkin, chewing silently. After finishing the single bite she threw her napkin over the top of the dish, letting the black fabric sink into the cheesy surface. She looked at the food with disdain, folding her arms.

Serena turned her head up to Bonnie, giving her a biting glare. "Honestly, I wouldn't have opted to eat breakfast with you if I thought this would be such an issue. Remind me again why I volunteered to do this?"

"Ash and Clemont already had things to do. You won't let me go to breakfast by myself."

"Oh come on, Bonnie! Is this so hard? I thought we could have a nice, quiet breakfast at Cafe Luxe, and then maybe go for a bit of an adventure around the island. You make it sound like it's a burden to hang out with me," said Serena. "Am I really that boring? What on earth could you possibly do today that's so much better?"

"Serena, you only want to go shopping."

"What? Bonnie, we talked about going to the beach! The beaches here are so lovely!"

Bonnie groaned audibly. The crayon gripped in her hand scribbled to fill in the fire behind Dedenne. "The whole ride we took on that smelly boat, all you talked about was some boutique, getting frozen yogurt and getting your hair cut."

"Bonnie, Miss Desi's Cottage is one of the most fashionable boutiques in the whole Kalos region, with all sorts of outfits and accessories that I could use in the events I have coming up—of course I'm looking forward to shopping there," said Serena. She closed her eyes, giving a dreamy smile. "And it wasn't just any frozen yogurt, it's the Salt of the Sea creamery and their 52 flavors, something I thought you would actually like. I haven't even read about what showcases Costa Nova has, but they're sure to be fun and fashionable!"

"You still talked about that haircut place the whole way."

"That's a 'spa'. It's called a 'pedicure'. I was talking more about getting a 'facial' than anything," Serena huffed.

"I thought you told Ash to stop using that word because it made you uncomfortable."

"Bonnie!"


	5. Chapter 5

"If you don't want to follow me around today, then what could you possibly want to do?"

Bonnie paused in her steps. She looked up to Serena, giving a toothy smile, meeting with Serena's gaze when she looked back over her shoulder.

"Oh no," Serena groaned.

Outside, the dim interior of the Cafe Luxe was far in the distance behind Bonnie and Serena. In the streets of Costa Nova, the sunbleached brick streets traced wide walking paths through the tall buildings and shops of the main city's interior. Bikers passed along the path, tourists walking groups with their Pokemon by their side. The sky was a perfect blue, the sun a bright white center as it passed the peak of noon.

Dedenne caught up with Bonnie, running along the main path as he caught up with the two standing girls. When he reached Bonnie, he nearly skidded to a stop, pawing up at Bonnie out of breath, hopping up over her sneaker as he tried to get up with her. He leapt into Bonnie's waiting arms as soon as she stooped over and reached down.

"Well... Um... You know," said Bonnie, pulling her arms closer around Dedenne and sitting him closer to her chest, "I think my 3DS is in your suitcase... Which is in the hotel..." She donned an innocent look, looking sideways, wagging her foot beneath her.

"Of course," Serena said. "Pokemon Crossing..."

"Serena, my harvest of Parsnapples and Mayberries is just about done! I'm that close to paying off my mortgage," said Bonnie, leaping at the chance, beaming happily. "And after that, Tom Nook can gouge me for another set of renovations! And I think there's an event at one of the game stores on the island, all I have to do is take my 3DS in and I can play in the Garden Festival!"

Sighing, Serena grabbed her bag from her side, unzipping it. She forked out several papery blue bills, finding the keycard to the hotel. Giving it one last longing look, she it down to Bonnie, who immediately snatched it up.

As Bonnie thumbed through the papery stack of Poke, she pulled her tiny bag beside her, slipping them into a tiny pouch. With her bag open and close to where she held Dedenne with an arm, Dedenne reached a paw in and snuck out a stashed orange slice.

"Just... Be careful, okay? And don't play video games all day."

"Thanks Serena!"

"Don't ever call me boring again, okay?" Serena grimaced, zipping her bag back up.

"You got it!"

As Serena shifted her bag back over her shoulder, she gave Bonnie an annoyed look, making sure she was paying attention.

"Don't think I didn't see what you did there," Serena hissed. Getting up, straightening her blouse and her hat, Serena turned, taking a few steps away from Bonnie.

"Dendedendendnee!" Dedenne squealed, spraying chunks of orange onto Bonnie's arms.

Bonnie made a face, sticking her tongue out. "Dedenne, that's gross."

Serena paused herself again, watching as Bonnie headed off with Dedenne in her arms. The resort they had spent the night in was at the far end of the long brick path, not that far on the horizon. She let out a deep sigh, pursing her lips as she looked back over towards where she was going, in the opposite direction.

\---

Stopping at a bench, Serena opened up her bag, sitting herself down. She gasped for air, her cheeks bright red as she rested herself. Her boots rested up on the heels, easing the weight off of her feet. She looked up from beneath the brim of her hat, seeing the boiling sun that made the paths seemingly sizzle. The thin red water bottle stashed in her bag was warm to the touch, but she popped the lid open, pressing the rim to her lips and tipping the bottle back, draining it silently.

Letting out a gasp of satisfaction, Serena still panted. She gave a longing look to the empty bottle she held in her hand, tipping it on its side. Her deep blue eyes darted up to far down the path, where a solitary convenience store stood.

The sealed water bottle slipped back in her bag. When it knocked against something hard and plastic, Serena paused, looking into the open, unzipped folds of the bag. She saw the gleaming, cream-colored inlay of the brassy shell of the laptop, pressed against the side of the bag.

"Write something..." Serena repeated to herself.

Serena gave a passing, spiteful look to the resort at the far end of the path, barely visible at it's end. Grabbing the laptop by it's end, she pulled it out and propped it on her lap.

When she opened the lid, the bright screen was overshadowed by the sun, but adjusting the standing screen made the screen visible again. The same document she had opened up before appeared to her, with the meager words she had put down before.

Serena's fingers found the keys, and she began to type, balancing the base of the laptop over the tops of her legs.

\---

_Let me tell you about my friends._


	6. Chapter 6

_Clemont is smart in a lot of ways, but he's not exactly... savvy._

_I like him a lot. He's been an excellent friend in my journey across the Kalos region. He's extremely knowledgeable, I don't think I'll ever learn so much about Pokemon as he has. He knows a lot about science and technology, probably a little more than he should._

_He is very kind, but he's very... impersonal. His people skills aren't so great, but he tries very hard to be practical for others and be generous with his knoweldge and his inventions. He isn't a know-it-all, he's just a very good friend, and I will always value having him around._

_We haven't traveled together for incredibly long, but he's been with me every step of the way._

\---

Serena's gaze raced around the aquatic center. For someone wearing more clothes than most in the swimming pool area, she still looked somewhat sheepish, fully dressed in her blouse and skirt, her jacket and bag slung over her shoulder, her black boots gripping the wet tile. Stretching and curling her hands into fists, Serena continued on, walking along the edge.

Voices echoed off concrete walls, the sounds of children squealing seeming piercing, backed by the loud cries of many very young children lingered and swam in the large open pool area, hanging off of floaties or kicking as their water wings kept them afloat, many flocked to the very edge, gazing at the display in the battle pool, where two trainers, standing on floating foam platforms at either edge of the pool commanded their Pokemon, an intense match between a Gyrados and a Lapras. Every so often, a shrill whistle came from a lifeguard, before he shouted commands at splashing kids. Even more often, the same sound of the whistle came from someone over by the battle pool, trying to keep the battling trainers from using Ice-type moves. Sunlight streamed in from the large glass skylights overhead, making the aquatic center seem as vibrant as all the outdoor activities.

Wrinkling her nose at the smell of chlorine, Serena paid attention to the task at hand, her eyes lighting up as soon as she spotted what—who she wanted to see.

Clemont squatted on a small section of tile by the main pool. He had laid out a towel, keeping his workspace dry as he tinkered with several electronic components, using a screwdriver to attach a pistoning arm to the side of an unusually shaped metal box. As he finished hooking the wire in, gritting his teeth as he pressed down on the tab to attach the wire, he took a breath, looking up and seeing Serena approach. He beamed, grasping his small mechanical device in his tiny hands as he stood up to greet Serena.

"Serena, hello! How are you this morning?" asked Clemont, peering out of his large glasses at the underbelly of his newest invention. He looked especially scrawny in his swim trunks, standing on thin, pasty legs with his skinny torso exposed above.

"Just fine, how's... This?"

"Oh, this?" Clemont lit up, hastily putting the invention down, squatting back down over the towel. "This here is an invention of mine that I've been working on for some time, actually. This is a bit of a robot!"

"A robot?"

"It's an autonomous, hydrogen-powered, intelligently-guided swimming drone! I made it myself. It has an autopilot and a remote control option, and it's going to allow me to explore what's under the sea around Costa Nova! It's incredibly handy, and I'm only on Mark XIV!"

"Fourteen..." Serena narrowed her eyes. "Clemont, how long have you been working on this?"

"Since this morning! It's been a dream of mine to make something like this forever!"

Beside where Clemont had set himself up poolside, an endless row of sunning chairs lined the main pool, many towels and bags set up on them, as well as adults who lounged on them and snoozed peacefully. Serena reached under one a mere foot away, scooting it on metal legs closer to Clemont's experiment and sitting herself on the edge, hunched over with her hands between her legs. She removed her hat and set it behind her, taking a moment to relax.

"I'm not really a good swimmer," said Clemont, "but I've always been fascinated by Pokemon of the sea! I'd love to discover more about them! And this is the way I've best devised to tackle that problem, building a robot that can swim around and dive deep."

At that, Clemont stooped over the pool, squatting close to the undulating pool water, a free spot devoid of people. With his arms outstretched and the robot between both hands, Clemont took a breath. He reached to the top of the device, flicking on a switch and powering the thing on. A small motor powered on inside, whirring and starting many of the processes. Several lights flicked on beneath the metal plating of the device. From the back, a sculpted fin made of plastic extended on a mechanical arm, turning slightly to test itself. Two fins extended from the side, making it look more fish-like and aquatic in appearance.

Satisfied, Clemont carefully lowered the robot into the pool. Once in, the robot swam forward at a slow pace, moving across the water and slowly descending into the waters below. Moments passed, and the robot didn't seem to accelerate any more, instead continually sinking into the pool and heading towards the chalky white bottom of the pool.

Clemont continued to stare deep into the pool, remaining silent. His face faltered slightly.

Serena got to her feet, frowning when she saw Clemont's emotionless face. She stood beside Clemont and hunched over to look in, seeing the swirling image of the robot sinking down towards the bottom. A look of confusion spread over her features as she watched the robot join several other, swirling and unintelligible images, soon realizing that they were the dead shells of previous robots, about thirteen in total.

"Are you not getting the robots back when you get them?" asked Serena.

Clemont turned up to Serena, a rather obvious look of confusion on his face. "I can't swim," he said.

Promptly, Clemont got up from the side of the pool. He reached into the backpack beside his towel workspace, pulling out several mechanical components and organizing them. Taking his tools, he assembled two supporting plates, attaching them to the mechanical spine of a potential fish-shaped robot.

Serena looked dumbstruck, watching Clemont resume his assembling and essentially start over.

Instead of protesting, Serena started back towards the chair she had been sitting at moments earlier. She seemed enraptured by an idea that had suddenly struck her, her eyes seemingly hypnotized as she imagined a possibility that had not occurred to her. Her lips twisted as she hunched over, her head facing Clemont even thought she clearly stared past him. Scratching at her scalp, Serena grabbed her hat from behind her and placed it fittingly back on her head.

\---

_I would think of Clemont as a go-to friend. Maybe not on all subjects, but he certainly knows how to help._

_He's not exactly... wise._

\---

"Well, 'Mark XV'—um, I mean, 'Mark 15' will be the one, as we can only hope, right Serena?"

Clemont looked back over his shoulder, looking for the toolbag he had set on one of the lounge chairs. Looking up, he saw that Serena had disappeared, no longer standing just over him. He whipped his head around, looking down the length of the pool, seeing lots of unfamiliar faces but no Serena. He frowned, wrinkling his nose as he thought about what that could've meant.

_Skreeeeeet!_

"Whoaa-a!" Clemont yelped, stumbling back suddenly. He watched as he knocked the towel out from underneath him, dumping the chassis of the robot and dozens of cables and electrical components into the pool. The electrical conduits fizzled on the water's surface before sinking down, effectively killing the robot.

As Clemont looked down into the pool, watching his half-complete robot sink down to the bottom and join the other remnants of dead robots, he suddenly looked up to the source of the shrill noise, gasping.

A lifeguard stood, tall and muscular, hands on the hips of his red swim trunks, a silvery whistle pursed between his lips. He gave Clemont an angry look, staring down at him beneath protective eyewear.

Down at Clemont's feet, a long aluminum rod clattered on the concrete floor. He saw the fishing basket on the end of it. He looked up to the lifeguard, seeing him point to the robots at the bottom of the pool. He swallowed.

"Oh brother..." Clemont whimpered.


	7. Chapter 7

Serena hopped off the sidewalk, crossing at the empty intersection. At the corner, where a city block would've been, a large drop-off down to a large paved area was blocked off by metal railing. Serena held the railing, carefully peering over down into the drop-off just to see how far down it was, before looking up at the large, dome-like structure ahead of her.

A massive stadium took up the large city block, lined with lights and banners, activity booming from within. Large, glowing letters under the brim read 'Pokemon Battle Center', poised above a large glowing Pokeball emblem.

Serena followed the sidewalk closely, walking alongside the railing until the railing opened up into a small ramp, one that switched back and traveled along the side of the tall concrete wall on the side of the sidewalk.

\---

_Ash..._

_Ash is great. He might be the greatest. Not of my friends, but of, well everyone. He wants to be the very best and I can really appreciate that. He has lofty goals, and I... admire that._

_He is the proud partner of the most powerful Pikachu I—anyone has ever known. I know more than a few people who would like to have Pikachu for themselves, but there's no partner for Pikachu but Ash. Everyone wants to fight Ash and his Pikachu, which is good, because Ash wants to fight everyone too._

_Ash likes to fight alongside Greninja too. They have a bond that I... can't really understand. I don't know how to explain it, and I won't try._

\---

Sitting on a bright red bench inside the Battle Center, Serena sat forward, her hands pressed between her knees as she smiled down at Pancham, who rested his back against the pale green, square table that jutted from the ground. She shared the bench with another woman, comfortably close to her as everyone else was in the packed waiting area. With Pancham flexing his small arms, moving his feet ahead of him in practice of a potential dance routine, Serena watched with a cheerful expression, giggling at Pancham's playful nature. Beside her, the power light on the closed laptop gently pulsed as it rested on the bench.

Abruptly, the whole room erupted into applause, cheering lightly as the main showroom doors to the arena opened, Ash walking out triumphantly with Pikachu on his shoulder. Close behind, another boy walked out, arms crossed and no Pokemon to follow him.

Serena saw Ash and immediately stood up. She clapped enthusiastically, beaming and cheering for him as he entered and made his way through the droves of gathered people. Beside her boots, Pancham hopped up atop the table, throwing up a fist and cheering.

Serena watched Ash, clapping happily as he crossed and walked along the front wall, heading towards a counter. Seeing that he hadn't seen her, Serena's face faltered for a moment, her clapping subsiding, any semblance of a smile fading away.

At the front of the waiting area was a wide counter, the neon Pokemon emblem above it and the various tall racks of medical equipment behind the counter seeming out of place in the sporty location. A pink-haired Nurse Joy stood at the front counter with several of her pink-haired companions working in the background. The whole waiting area seemed dim in light of the Pokemon Center, the overwhelming blue light radiating from the front and all the way through the room.

From a pouch on the side of his backpack, Ash removed several Pokeballs, setting them in slots on a tray on the counter. As if he had caught him off-guard, Ash turned his head to see Pikachu rawl across his shoulders, perching himself momentarily. Ash tapped the tray on the counter below, and instinctively Pikachu leaped from his shoulder and landed atop the counter, walking on his hind legs towards the tray and promptly sitting down inside, his jagged, lightning bolt tail sticking up between his two legs, clutched between his two forearms.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried, a spark of electrical energy leaving the red spots on his cheeks. Smiling, black eyes beaming, Pikachu hopped up on his hind legs and pointed to Serena who had approached the counter from the side.

Surprised and confused, Ash looked beside himself to see where Pikachu had pointed, turning and yelping in surprise as Serena had approached from the side. He stumbled back and caught the counter, immediately hopping up and straightening himself, looking sheepish and scratching the back of his head.

"Serena! What are you doing here?" asked Ash.

\---

_Wait, let me start over._

_Do I believe in fate? Kinda._

_I met my best friend Ash Ketchum when I was six, and now I travel with him everyday, adventuring through the Kalos region. I knew he was special and would be important to me, I knew that then, but I didn't know that this is what that feeling meant. After all, it was just a feeling. I was still getting that feeling for a long time._

_It's a... special feeling._

\---

Serena looked sheepish as well. She looked sideways, watching as Nurse Joy, wearing a sporty jersey with the facility logo on it, carried Pikachu and the other Pokemon on the tray to a healing bed, covering her lips with an embarrassed smile. She giggled nervously, her eyes seemingly shrinking back as she looked up to Ash. Though she could feel her cheeks were still the same creamy shade she always had, she could feel her ears burning like Pikachu's cheeks, hot against the tufts of hair that stuck out beneath her hat.

"I... Came to see you battle! You did great in there!"

"Oh wow! It was just a practice round, nothing crazy," said Ash. "How was breakfast with Bonnie?"

"It left a lot to be desired."

"I'm sure it wasn't nearly as amazing as having breakfast at sunrise! Me and Pikachu went for a run on the beach this morning, and it was awesome! We've been training all morning, and we finally decided to get into a practice battle. This is a really cool place!" said Ash.

Serena gave a faltering smile. "I would've loved to have joined you," she said.

"Yeah! That would be awesome!"

\---

_I know, it sounds cheesy._

_It sounds a little... too cheesy. Sorry, let me start over again._


	8. Chapter 8

Entering the dark space of the training area, the lights automatically flicked on, revealing the full length of the space. It was about the size of a two car garage, completely empty with modest padding on the floor. Lines on the floor indicated suggestions for attack patterns, stances and measurable distances. A whiteboard had been built into the northmost wall, largely cleaned. Opposite it, there were several painted outlines of various Pokemon height classes. The lengthwise wall had glass for outsiders to view into, and the opposite wall had various panels that opened up into supply storage.

Setting his backpack against the back wall, Ash walked up to a small panel of the wall, grunting as he pushed in on the release and then pulled the drawer-like section from beneath the wall smoothly, revealing storage. In a holster mounted beneath the unit, a metal rod was set, one that Ash popped out with ease.

"Is this where you all have been training?" Serena asked. She hung around in the doorway, arms crossed as she slouched against it.

On the floor, Pikachu raced around, fresh from his healing with Nurse Joy. An arc of electricity sparked off his back as he charged up, running towards the far wall and skidding to a halt just in time, kicking off of it before racing back towards Ash. He stopped, watching curiously, ears perking as Ash took the metal rod and bringing it to the opposite wall.

"Yeah! Isn't it a great space?" asked Ash, flipping the rod in the air and catching it on the other end, repeating the motion. "I haven't come up with any new attacks yet, but I bet we could really work on some new moves, huh Pikachu?"

"Iiikapika!"

At the far end of the room, the padding on the floor ended in a small margin of hard smooth floor. A small orange section stood out among the green-painted surface, and Ash pressed in with the toe of his sneaker. Hissing quietly, a tall column of metal slowly raised and pushed the orange section upward, bringing it to about waist-high with Ash and then stopping. The orange section split, revealing a holster for the metal rod that Ash had in his hands.

Serena's boot heel kicked idly against the doorframe, watching curiously as Ash prepped the rod. Her arms were folded. Her bag was slung over her shoulder, not quite as at-home in the practice space as Ash and Pikachu were.

"What have you been doing?" asked Ash. He released his grip on the rod, watching it carefully as the holster supported it, perfectly upright, its chrome-coated surface gleaming in the florescent lighting.

Serena blinked. "Me?" she asked blindly. "I... Not a whole lot, really. I... I visited Clemont earlier."

"Yeah? What is he doing?"

"He's... He's building a robot to work in a swimming pool..." said Serena.

"Like a swimming robot? That's awesome!" said Ash. He took a few steps down the padded surface, holding his hands up in front of his vision to ensure that the rod was level.

"I guess... That's about all I've done today..."

"Ready Pikachu?" asked Ash, pumping his fist, wearing a determined grin.

"Pikaa!"

Ash threw his hand out, pointing to the starting line on the mat, one that Pikachu raced near-instantly to before skidding to a halt. Then, pointing at the rod he had just set up, Ash shouted at the top of his lungs, a fury in his eyes.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"

Electricity sparking wildly from his cheeks, Pikachu bore down on all fours, raising his tail high, charging. His whole body crackled with surging yellow electricity, ripping over his fur and building towards a mass around him. He let out a high-pitched cry of battle, his eyes locked on the rod as he focused. Finally, at a peak of charged energy, Pikachu unleashed an arc of electricity, shooting the dense charge towards the rod in a powerful blast. The impact on the rod sparked off into air, moments before surrounding the rod in a storm of electrical energy, collecting on the rod.

The whole room flashed with light, blinding compared to the rest of the world. Ash had thrown his arm up in front of his eyes, letting out a loud groan of pain. He had launched himself back towards the wall, holding himself to it blindly, his ears overwhelmed by the crackling, surging power and Pikachu's battle cries.

Just outside the room, Serena had crouched down to protect herself, covering her face with one hand and throwing her arm out in front of her to protect against any loose electricity that came her way, even though there was a whole barrier of glass and steel between her and Pikachu's electric onslaught. Though she had been surprised by Pikachu's power, she took it all with a modicum of general interest in what Ash was doing, more confused than anything. Deep down, through her blank stare and confusion as she covered herself, she caught herself smiling, somewhat pleased with Ash's display.

All at once, the arc of electricity ended, Pikachu's body no longer surging with pure electric energy. The bright yellow coat on his body looked somewhat drained. He panted audibly, his eyes tired and his tail drooping.

"Alright Pikachu! Awesome!" said Ash, pumping his fist in air, grinning ear to ear.

The rod glowed orange, super-heated by the shock that surrounded it. Some of the electrical components on the lifted platform emanated a black smoke in small wisps, the lights burnt out and exploded, any exposed cables dripping off the rubber coating that had melted.

"Wow Ash, is that what you've been working on?" Serena beamed.

"Yep! I'm working on Pikachu's overall strength when he uses a move like Thunderbolt!" said Ash.

"Clearly you've been working on the 'wow' factor too," she giggled.

"Heh, yeah I guess so!"

Ash slipped a thick, padded glove onto his hand, clasping a pair of tongs. He reached up with the tongs and gripped the metal rod, releasing it from the holster on the platform and lifting it up carefully. Down by his foot, just by the platform, a blue panel was built into the floor. When Ash pushed in with the toe of his sneaker, the panel lowered slightly, retracting into the side and revealing a pool of cool water. Ash released the tongs and dropped the rod inside. As soon as it sank into the water, a cloud of steam rushed up, the rod hissing loudly on the water's surface.

Stepping back, Ash lifted his hat, batting it upward and letting messy black hair fall out for a moment before he secured it snugly atop his head, pushing down his hair. He walked back towards the open wall panel, reaching into the mounted storage unit and pulling out another unused metal rod.

As Ash played with the rod, a look of confusion came over Serena's face.

"Ash... Are you going to go again?"

Ash paused. Beside his leg, the rod continued to steam inside the cubic pool of water. "Yeah, I was. Me and Pikachu have lots more training to do, we were probably going to go for the rest of the day," he said. Though he didn't realize it, a deadly breath came from Serena, as both she and him knew the deadly question was coming. "Why do you ask?"

"Well..." Serena's body language closed up. Her boot kicked out in front of her, nudging the metal door frame as she had earlier. Her arms folded. She hung her head down for a moment, staring off into space, her hat covering her head. "I... I was wondering if you wanted to go get some dinner...?"

Ash stared blankly. "I don't think I can Serena, sorry."

All the breath left Serena's chest. She swallowed, painfully, taking a moment to consider what he had just said, choosing to nod softly. "Okay," she mumbled.

Ash rested the rod in the holster on the platform, neglecting to tighten it and leaving it to slouch over in the holster. He walked over, passing a confused Pikachu on the floor, stopping by the door. He removed the glove over his hand, putting it on her shoulder. As Serena looked up, seeing him, Ash paused carefully, watching her.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Ash.

Serena was seemingly in shock, looking up in confusion at Ash. "W... What do you mean...?"

"Are you going to do all those things you mentioned? Are you going to that clothing store you mentioned? Are you going to the beach?"

"Beach...?"


	9. Chapter 9

Serena had only made it a few steps outside the practice space. She paused, looking down the length of the subterranean hall, hearing only the muffled sounds of battle happening beneath the sealed walls, glass windows rattling gently as battle beneath rocked the walls. She couldn't see Ash or Pikachu any more.

Turning away, Serena hit the 'up' button for the elevator beside her. She held her arms, rubbing them comfortingly, slumping against the wall in defeat.

\---

_After all, it was just a feeling. I was still getting that feeling for a long time. It's a... special feeling._

\---

Reading over the words silently, Serena leaned against the wall, sitting on the floor. The laptop was propped over her legs.

She moused over the words above with the trackpad, then hitting delete. She typed something new.

\---

_Ash is great._

\---

The lobby of the Battle Center had cleared, with groups of people sparsely lingering through the wide space. The silvery turnstiles at the entrance to the building were completely free of the lines Serena had seen when she first entered. The many mounted monitors on the surrounding walls had turned to blank waiting screens, only one or two showing any battles from any of the other rooms.

Serena walked alone, entering from the wings of the area. She wasn't watching where she was going, staring blankly ahead of her. Her arms hung by her side with nothing to do.

Down by her legs, Pancham walked ahead on stubby legs, a worried look on his face. He walked ahead quickly, moving up in front of Serena, just far enough to turn around and look up to Serena's face. He waved his little black arms, looking up at her.

"Paaaan...?"

Serena blinked. She looked up at Pancham, seeing the worried look on his face. She gave a light smile, her dead and intense stare softening up when she saw him.

She squatted, the toes of her boots curling, her knees bowing out as she brought herself closer to Pancham. As she reached down to the ground, her hand rubbing her knee thoughtlessly, Pancham wandered up to her and hugged her knee, his little, chapped paws scratching against the material of her stockings. She reached for his head, his head bobbing down beneath the passing shadow of her hand as she stroked his fur lightly.

As Pancham purred, his tiny voice letting out small, Pokemon-ish words of comfort, Serena's head tipped sideways, staring out past him as she lost herself in thought. The smile on her face faded slowly, her stroking fingers slowing just behind his ears. Her gaze faltered, looking down past Pancham and at the tile floors.

Just behind her, Serena unzipped her bag. She worked her hand into the small opening, feeling blindly through the contents, until her fingers brushed against something round and plastic. She grasped it, pulling out the unusually light Pokeball. She brought it around in front of her, holding it just above her lap. Her eyes lingered on the Pokeball in her one hand, her fingers working through the fur on Pancham's head.

The tranquil, sleepy look on Pancham's face faded slowly, his eyes landing on the Pokeball in her hand. The paw that rubbed up against the material of Serena's stockings slipped down, slowly becoming limper. Pancham's whole face rested against her knee, slouching. The deep black, pit-like eyes he had flashed up to Serena in a blink, watching her expression.

Beneath conflicted features, Serena looked to Pancham, offering a smile. She leaned in, kissing his forehead.

"It'll be okay sweetie," she said quietly, smiling.

As she pressed the white release on the Pokeball, an arc of red light shot out at Pancham, his whole figure flashing in a brief, red image of himself, moments before disippating and following the red arc of energy back into the Pokeball. The Pokeball rattled, becoming heavier in Serena's grip, a metallic ringing coming from the inside of the device.

Serena stood up straight, taking a deep, sighing breath. She looked upward, following the blinding streams of honey-colored sunlight that washed over her. Squinting, she saw outside the large, wide windowed front entrance of the facility as the sun set over the island, passing beneath city-like buildings and heading towards the horizon, painting the sky a glowing pink.

Serena took a few steps forward, watching the day end. Beneath the warmth of the sun, her expression became less quiet and contemplative, realization slowly coming to her.

Taking a few steps towards the exit, Serena picked up the pace, exiting through the doors, walking out onto the concrete bridge that spanned to the street.

\---

Atop a tall brick building, laying flat with their arms propped over the edge of the building, Jesse, James and Meowth all held binoculars to their eyes, watching a lone figure at the bottom of the street.

"Twerpette seems to be walking alone," said Jesse. "No Ash or Pikachu with her."

"Not even any of her own Pokemon are with her!" said James.

"Someone's in the doghouse," said Meowth.

After a beat of silence, both Jesse and James lowered their binoculars, looking at Meowth between them. They both shot Meowth foul looks, grimacing.

"Meowth, don't be ridiculous. The complexities of human relationships aren't just something we can just gossip about," said Jesse. "Besides, twerp and twerpette should probably think about finishing puberty before thinking about anything serious. If there's any 'juicy' details it's going to be over a juice box and crayons," she finished, putting her binoculars back up to her eyes.

"Love is for adults, not brats and Pokemon," said James, already looking through his binoculars.

"Hey now, I's was only thinkin' out loud," said Meowth, annoyed. "Whats' do you guys know about 'love', anyway?"

Jessie nearly dropped her binoculars. "Meowth!"

"What? Its reasonable speculation!" protested Meowth, giving Jesse an angry look.

"Jessie and I know plenty about love. I have had my bouts of fiery passion and brushed against the flames of true love a few times myself," said James. "Perhaps you could enlighten us with what exactly some simpleton Pokemon like you knows about love?"

"Yes! Enlighten us! And just so you know, I've been burdened with such blisteringly hot affairs and enough deeply romantic gestures to last a lifetime! How dare you!" shouted Jesse, closing in on Meowth quickly, visibly threatening to tear him limb from limb.

"Yech! Alright, jeez," Meowth scowled, backing away. "Maybes I ask you next time I's need an expert on the opposite sex, or maybes I asks you about how to let twerpette get away!" he shouted, pointing back over the edge of the roof.

James yelped, putting his binoculars back over his eyes and looking down to the concrete bridge where Serena had been moments earlier. She was gone.

"Twerpette doesn't have Pikachu, let her mope," said Jesse. "We wait until Ash and his Pikachu leave the Battle Center, then we strike!"


	10. Chapter 10

A set of metal elevator doors slid open, opening up the elevator to a simple, hotel hallway. Serena stepped out, adjusting the hat on her head.

Her hand was buried in the pocket of her long, red vest. She continually looked up as she walked, mindful of her steps, finding the thin scrap of paper from the inside of her pocket. Pulling her hand free, she unfolded the small scrap: the number '56' was written on it.

Dozens of simple, decoratively-trimmed doors lined the hall, all with hotel room numbers set on labels in the center of them. Several small glowing lamps were mounted to the wall, casting warm, comfy lights through out. Down beneath Serena's boots, a sensible pattern covered the carpet of the hall. In the deafening silence, an ice machine rattled at the far end of the hall, the low hum of air conditioning accompanying the cool sensation on her skin as well as the clean, homely smell.

Serena stopped in front of a door. The glowing, lamp-lit label affixed to the door read '56'. As she raised a fist to knock on the door, she paused, looking down at the floor. A small, blue piece of card stock rested on the floor, Serena's name on the front of it. She stooped down, reaching for the card, lifting it.

On the other side of it, the plastic key card to the room had been taped on. A note was written hastily below.

\---

_'Serena,_

_'Went down to the mini mart to get snacks. Took some of the grocery money. I need about P8000 to pay for room service. The guy at the front counter downstairs really needs it, so pay as soon as you can._

_'Thanks! Bonnie'_

\---

Tearing the key card from the tape, Serena crushed the blue card in her grip, letting out a loud groan of annoyance. Her teeth ground together in anger, her cheeks flaring up red.

"Bonnie..." Serena scowled.

\---

The hotel room felt exactly the same as it had that morning, but the sun had set outside the window, and Serena hadn't done anything.

Serena turned the lamp on at the desk, plopping herself down in the chair. She let out a deep sigh, sitting forward dejectedly. Letting her bag slip over her arm, she lowered it to the ground, hearing it thump against the bottom of the desk. She slumped forward, leaning herself against the wooden surface, resting her head on it's side. She felt her pink fedora pop off, rolling up and leaning against the wall.

She shut her eyes, her upper lip stiffening.

"Write something..." she repeated to herself again, the words coming to her like a ghost.

Serena suddenly sat herself up, pausing as she looked at the surface of the desk where she had been resting only moments earlier. Her blonde hair hung around her like a wreath, hanging in strange wisps all around her head, partially blinding her. She continued to stare, thinking to herself.

Lifting the hat that had been propped between the desk and the wall, Serena set the hat over on the bed. She ran her hands over the desk, clearing it of loose hairs that may have fallen from her head. Then, after taking a sigh, she reached into her bag, pulling the laptop out and laying it flat on the desk.

When the lid flipped open, the glow from the screen that faced Serena lit her features, casting light on the confused, conflicting expressions Serena wore and deepening them. She froze, reading the words she had written on the document.

Serena's hands reached out, her fingertips finding the keys. Once more, she began to type.

\---

_And Bonnie._

_Bonnie can be a nuisance sometimes. She can be the most annoying person in the world, and I'm sometimes reminded of that on a daily basis, especially when I travel with her. She can be cute, but sometimes... sometimes she's too much to handle._

_And the most annoying part about her is..._

\---

Serena paused for a moment. Looking down, she realized her hands were shaking. Her hands continued to hover over the keys, a mental barrier between her fingers and the keyboard below, her eyes transfixed. She couldn't make sense of why she was hesitating, but she felt a deathly fear.

Swallowing, she continued, feeling a strange feeling bubble up in the pit of her stomach.

\---

_...She's usually right._

_She's always right._

_Bonnie is very young, but she's very bright. I'm sure she gets it from her brother, but she's bright in a plethora of other ways. Ways that Clemont isn't bright in, like people things._

_She's annoying, she makes me crazy, but she's very insightful when she wants to be, and she's right. She knows exactly how to push my buttons, sometimes in good ways and in others bad. She knows exactly what to say, especially when I need to hear it. She's brutally honest, too._

_I know she's not my sister, but I love her like a sister._

_And I'm sorry, Bonnie. I'm sorry I was rude to you._

_I'm sorry I couldn't admit you were right. Now I can, and it's too late._

\---

Serena sat herself back, her gaze transfixed to the page. Even when she blinked, she couldn't find the strength to look away, just as if she was hypnotized. She choked, realizing the feeling had moved from the pits of her stomach to the apex of her neck, bulging and bubbling, wanting to break through. She soon found a burning sensation just behind her eyes, making her tear up.

As she blinked, feeling her sinuses burn beneath her eyes, she realized that's exactly what the feeling was: sadness. It was coming in tears.

Serena croaked. She swallowed deeply but it wouldn't stop the feeling. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks in hot slicks, the tears burning all around her eyes.

\---

_I was boring. I have been boring._

_Bonnie was right. Bonnie is right._

_There's something Bonnie doesn't know, something that even I can't understand, and it's that I'm afraid._

_Something has been holding me back. When I started this journey, I was adventurous. I was rebellious. I was free-spirited, I wanted to explore the whole world and I felt like I had it at my fingertips. I traveled with my friends because they enabled that in me, they stoked that fire inside of me. When my friends have gone off today and done what they wanted to do, when they've had their own separate paths and adventures to go find, I've grown quiet. I've isolated myself and lived in fear of what I could be doing right now._

_What will I do when they've truly gone? What will I do when I'm on my own?_

_I am afraid of being alone._

\---

Serena lifted the collar of her shirt, pressing the thin white material to just beneath her eyes, dabbing at her soaking cheeks. She held her arms, weeping softly, no longer caring about the frayed mess of hair that hung around her head, sticking to her wet cheeks. Her fingers gripped the material of her shirt, holding it close as she forgot about keeping it clean and neat.

After a moment, shutting the laptop, Serena leaned forward, holding her head in her hands, feeling her tears subside.


	11. Chapter 11

The door launched itself open, flinging forward and slamming against the side of the wall. The walls rattled, thudding with the large sound.

Serena sat herself up in bed, snapped from her hypnotic stupor. She looked up at the glowing screen of the TV, fumbling for the remote in the dark bed sheets beside her, grasping the remote and pointing it at the set on the counter across the room, turning the TV off. The whole bedroom was suddenly immersed in darkness without the light of the TV on. Getting up, squinting through the darkness, the light of the outer hall washed over the interior, lighting the small passage between the main room and the outside. As Serena got to her feet, hopping over the bed, she saw the light of the bathroom flash on the hall as it turned on.

"Ededednne!" A familiar, shrill Pokemon voice squealed.

As Serena hurried around the length of the bed, she came around the corner, hearing the familiar pitter-patter of Bonnie's light steps. She slowed herself down, coming around the corner into the bathroom. Down on the ground, just short of her feet, Dedenne looked up at Serena, his black eyes shimmering with desperation and worry as he looked up to Serena, prodding at her in a desperate bid for help.

A look of confusion came over Serena as she met with Dedenne's gaze. Looking up, looking down the narrow hotel bathroom to the far end of the room where the toilet was, she saw Bonnie on her knees, head facing into the bowl, her tiny hands gripping the sides of the toilet bowl. Wide-eyed, Serena suddenly realized what was going on, turning her head and looking away in time.

"Ahhh... Oh gosh... Hrrrkk!" wailed Bonnie, moments before she made a vile retching sound, emptying her stomach into the toilet bowl.

Serena couldn't bring herself to look. With the collar of the sleepwear t-shirt she wore in her hand, she lifted the collar over her nose, covering her nose as a foul stench filled the bathroom. The sounds were enough to make her cringe.

"Oh Bonnie... Oh goodness... What happened...? What did you do...?" asked Serena. She looked over suddenly in a panic, seeing Bonnie flop over.

Gasping for air, her face twisted up with a sick expression, her complexion a bright green, Bonnie looked up to Serena, her stomach gurgling audibly. She reached up weakly, her arm shaking as she laid on her side, grabbing the flushing handle of the toilet and tugging down, the toilet making an audible plunging sound as it flushed what was out of sight. Wincing, clutching her stomach, Bonnie sat herself up.

"The oranges..." Bonnie moaned. "It was the oranges...!"

Serena squatted down, looking at Bonnie with deep concern. Her eyes raced over the floor as she thought, too confused to make any sense of what had just happened or what Bonnie was saying. When she opened her mouth to speak, a look of realization slowly dawning on her, Bonnie grabbed her by the shirt, pulling her in close so that they were face to face.

"I... Ate the oranges...! This morning...!" said Bonnie. "The ones from the trash...! And they made me... Sick...!"

Too confused to even speak, Serena shook the feeling off, shaking her head and narrowing her eyes at Bonnie.

"But... What about all that stuff you said? All that stuff you said about being boring and having some excitement in your life...?"

"Forget all that...! I'm super sick right now...!" Bonnie wailed.

As Bonnie went to say something again, she was cut off by a loud gurgling sound from her stomach. Both her and Serena looked down, then back up, staring at each other with deep worry. Bonnie suddenly lurched, putting a hand over her mouth as her cheeks ballooned, her eyes wide with shock. Her eyes suddenly crossed, her stomach rumbling with an intensity so powerful it could've shook the walls.

With a passing thought to her shirt, Serena grabbed Bonnie by the hips, pulling her off the floor and back around onto her knees in front of the toilet, helping aim her head. When she heard the familiar, pained sounds of Bonnie vomiting, Serena sighed and looked away, covering her own mouth with her shirt again.

"I'm... I'm sorry Serena..." Bonnie said, catching her breath as she lifted her head from the bowl just enough. "You were right... I shouldn't have eaten those oranges... I-I'm sorry I called you b-boring... Hrrk!"

As Bonnie faced her head down, her tiny body convulsing as she threw up into the toilet, Serena gave a wistful, sad look out towards the open door, thinking to herself. None of what was happening beside her seemed to faze her, she was too deep in thought.

Down beneath by their legs, running up between where Bonnie was kneeling and where Serena sat on the bathtub's edge, Dedenne looked up, pawing at the toilet bowl softly, trying to get both of their attention.

"Dedenn...?" Dedenne whined softly.

Looking down, Serena couldn't bring herself to smile. She stared at Dedenne, then scooped him up into her arms, holding him in her lap as Bonnie finished. She sighed, again.


	12. Chapter 12

Serena sat alone at a small cafe table, staring blankly at the laptop in front of her. The screen continually glowed with the words she had written before. A deeply worried look blanketed her as she recalled what had happened just moments earlier in the hotel bathroom, an event she couldn't shake from her when she reread the page on the screen. Every time she tried to read again, she visibly cringed with the memories of today.

Giving a glance outside the cafe, past the tall stone columns that supported the open structure of the Cafe Luxe, Serena could see the darkness of the streets, with streetlights casting an amber haze over the tourists and visitors to the island. It was night, and Serena's first day on Costa Nova had ended.

Sighing, Serena folded her arms, leaning forward against the table. She blinked her eyes steadily as she fidgeted in her seat, feeling the sleepiness of the evening come to her.

"Ma'am?"

Serena looked up, following the sound of the voice. She looked back, seeing a young waitress standing just beside her, smiling awkwardly beneath a worried brow.

"Ma'am, we're still working on your food. It'll be just a moment," she said. "Also... The housekeeping services of the resort say they are still working on touching things up. They said it could be another hour."

Serena nodded softly. "Okay... And Bonnie...?"

The smile returned to the waitress' features, if only for a moment. She nodded as well. "They said that she'll just be with the resort nurse for a little bit longer. They said her brother is already there with her."

"Good," said Serena, smiling.

As Serena turned away, refocusing on the contents of her laptop's display, the waitress paused just away from Serena's table. She had taken a few steps away from the table, ready to head back to the cafe's kitchen, but she hesitated. She gave a passing look to the pot of coffee she wielded in her hand, chewing her lip silently. She came back around to the side of the table, making sure she was in Serena's view, leaning in just enough to make sure Serena could see her from above her laptop.

"Sweetie, is everything okay?" asked the waitress.

"I'm... I'm fine!" Serena said, almost in protest. Her enthusiasm faded almost instantly. "I... It's okay... I'm just feeling a little, 'off', that's all..."

The waitress frowned, thinking to herself. She then looked up to Serena, giving a flash of a smile, then pausing again as she turned away. She finally walked away after a moment, heading towards the back.

\---

A plate of colorful, rounded macaroons had been set in front of Serena. Holding a bright, lime-green colored one, a bite already taken out of the middle with cream oozing out of the foamy interior, the candy shell cracked on the outside, Serena chewed silently, savoring the flavor. Though she visibly enjoyed the taste of the macaroons, something seemed off.

Over to the side of the table, the laptop had been set aside. The laptop screen under the lid was still propped up, but the screen had darkened, the fan whizzing at a much quieter level now that the laptop had gone to sleep. The light pulsed gently at the bottom of the lid as it stayed in sleep mode.

As Serena finished the rest of the lime-green macaroon, she gently wiped her fingers on a napkin, taking the napkin and wiping away her lips. In the corner of the table, the laptop screen lit up suddenly showing a new message. Serena paused, midway through wiping her lips, leaning in and narrowing her eyes to inspect the message that had appeared.

The window that took up the center of the screen was a flashing window, with words in the center: 'Incoming Call: Mom'.

Serena's eyes went wide, and she gasped. With her heart racing, Serena quickly set the plate of macaroons to the side, setting the napkin down beside it. She reached over and grasped the laptop, lifting it and pulling it to her side, setting it down in front of herself. Unsure what to do, her breathing quick and panicked, her hands felt over the keyboard briefly as she tried to figure out how to answer the call, losing her sense of logic for a moment. After taking a deep breath, inspecting the window and looking at the colorful buttons along the bottom of it, Serena took the trackpad on the laptop, pointing the cursor at the button that looked like a phone and clicking in.

The whole screen went dark. As Serena's eyes darted around every inch of the glossy display, looking around in confusion, she looked up at the camera on top of the laptop. A tiny light appeared next to the camera. Looking down at the darkness of the laptop's screen, Serena froze for a moment as the screen was suddenly filled with a reflection of her-what the camera was showing of her. Instead of reacting with fear, Serena suddenly noticed that the part in her hair was slightly off, and that her hair looked deflated. She quickly fluffed up her hair, giving a passing glance down to her shirt and adjusting it briefly.

Moments later, the screen changed. Serena's reflection minimized to the corner, with a new figure appearing in the center. She saw the familiar landscape of home, the living room lights glowing softly on the walls and lighting the person in the center. As the grainy, pixel-y screen diffused slowly, giving more and more detail, Serena could see it was her mom. She gasped.

"Hi sweetie!" the laptop speakers crackled. The distorted, tinny voice sounded like her mother's.

It took Serena a moment to process what was going on. She gasped quietly, unable to help a smile. "H-Hi mom...! W-Wow...!"

"Pretty neat huh?"

"Y-Yeah...! But, how...?" asked Serena, completely stupefied.

"Oh Serena, I should've explained earlier, I'm so sorry. I meant to send a card with the laptop so that it would explain everything, but I realized today that I had the card right here!" she said, holding up the envelope in front of the camera, addressed and sealed, card inside. "I'm so sorry..."

"So... You sent the laptop...?" A look of realization slowly dawned on Serena.

"Of course! I've been meaning to send it to you for a long time but I've just never had a good opportunity. You're always on the move and I can never seem to get my act together to send it to you in time. I figured as your adventures are winding down, now that the Pokemon Showcases seem to be less and less frequently, I figured this might give you the opportunity to start up some new hobbies!"

Serena didn't seem to be paying attention. Her mind was racing with too many ideas. When she finally looked up to the screen, to her mother, she gave a questioning look.

"Mom... Did you write in there 'write something'?" asked Serena.

On screen, her mom looked sheepish. She gave a small smile, looking away, fidgeting in her seat

"Serena, I know you had always talked about writing or keeping a journal, just to have something with all your private thoughts on hand, and I had always encouraged you to share your thoughts with the world. I figured the time was right to give you that opportunity," she said, visibly beaming, her voice having a quiet excitement to it. "I know you've been busy traveling with Ash and your friends, and I would hate for you to forget about that dream you used to have. I would hate for you to lose that... excitement."

"I... I understand..." Serena said, almost gawking as she thought silently.

"Sweetie, you may not think it, but you're coming to a bit of a crossroads. You might not think things will change, that things will continue to stay the same, but they will. Trust me, I'm your mom," she said. "I just want to encourage you to pursue your passions and don't forget them, you have a lot of life ahead of you. I just felt this might be a good push in a new direction for you."

Serena smiled genuinely. Though her eyes told a different, more conflicted and thoughtful story, she gave a full smile, seeming to be very happy at her mother's kind words.

"Mom, thank you," said Serena.

"You're welcome sweetie. Good luck!"


	13. Chapter 13

"How are your macaroons?"

Serena looked up, seeing the waitress just over her shoulder. She gave passing glance down to the plate of macaroons she had scooted to the side, seeing that it was still full of the brightly-colored confections. She smiled sheepishly.

"They're good! Sorry, just got a bit... distracted. That's all," answered Serena. She moused the cursor of the laptop in front of her, closing down the document in front of her.

As the waitress came around to the side of the table, picking up the used napkin that had been set aside and sat down a new, freshly folded napkin, she looked up at the laptop in front of Serena, nodding towards it.

"Are you a writer?" she asked.

Serena thought about the question, looking at the laptop's screen. The text document with all of her thoughts of the day had been hidden, but it was still fresh on her mind.

\---

_Am I a writer?_

_I've only started to write today in any serious way. Before that, it had been years since I had written, and even then I wasn't writing a lot._

_There are hobbies that I have that take up way more time and have way more importance to me. Competing in Pokemon Showcases is something that is way more important to me. Even Pokemon training is more important. Writing probably isn't even third on the list of things that are important to me._

\---

"Not exactly," Serena offered up a smile, despite how fake it looked.

The waitress nodded sagely. "Just working on something late at night? Just something to pass the time?"

Serena chuckled nervously. "Yeah, exactly," she said.

From one of the set tables beside Serena's, the waitress reached over, picking up an overturned glass mug. She set it down on Serena's table, just beside her laptop. When Serena looked over at the mug, seeming confused, the waitress wielded the full, sloshing coffee pot in front of her, looking it over and smiling lightly.

"Can I give you a bit of free advice?" asked the waitress, lowering the lip of the pot towards the empty mug. A steady trickle of steaming coffee poured into the glass mug.

Serena watched the mug get filled, her curiosity taking over her confusion. "What is it?"

The waitress pulled the pot back, setting the mug closer to Serena. She then reached back, grabbing a small tray of assorted creams and sugars, setting it beside Serena's coffee.

"A bit of coffee goes a long way when you need to write," the waitress winked.

Serena swallowed, the warm aroma of the coffee reaching her nose, making it wrinkle. Biting her lip, she looked up at the waitress, seeming a bit put-off.

"Ma'am, I really don't drink coffee..." said Serena, looking bashful.

"Well, I said it was free advice," chuckled the waitress. "I'm not charging you for the coffee, you certainly don't have to try it."

\---

_But..._

_I still write._

_I believe that writing is an important skill, and it especially speaks to me. I think it is necessary to share one's experience and commit it to paper, even if you're just sharing it with yourself._

_Part of the reason I don't consider myself a writer is the fact that I don't write books. I don't write novels or stories, or essays or hardly any letters. I just write what comes to mind. I write what I believe to be true, and that's all I can really hope for._

\---

The tapping sounds of Serena's keyboard had grown silent. Serena's hands remained tucked under the table, resting in her lap. Even though she continued to think of what to write, her eyes occasionally wandering back to the screen, all her attention was taken up by a single steaming mug beside her.

The black, murky surface of her coffee reflected Serena's own worried image back at her. She chewed her lip nervously, thinking to herself, her fingers tapping on her knee as she thought of what to do with the coffee.

A look of resolve appeared in Serena's eyes, and she reached out for the mug. She grasped the handle, her other fingers lightly holding the warm side as she lifted the mug up. As the rim approached her lips, Serena hesitated, feeling the heat and steam rise from the surface, making her eyes water. Taking a deep breath brought the heavenly, woodsy aroma to her sinuses, almost instantly energizing her. She blew lightly, sending ripples over the surface, before pressing the mug up to her lips and taking a sip.

The reaction was instant. Though the coffee was hot, it didn't burn her tongue. She still winced, her face souring up as the bitter flavor went straight to her tongue. Her shoulders tensed up, rolling uncomfortably and her head stiffly moving from side to side. Her eyes had squeezed shut, though she opened an eye to make sure she was safely setting down the mug.

As Serena relaxed, swallowing and trying to get the flavor out of her system, Serena reached for the tray of creams and sugars and took out a small creamer cup, tearing the lid off and pouring in the milky substance. Tossing aside the empty cup, Serena grabbed a packet of sugar and tore it open over the swirling black surface, then another, and another, and one more for good measure. The black coffee turned a rosy brown, swirling with tan streaks. Taking a spoon, Serena stirred up the coffee quickly, making one homogeneous blend.

Removing the spoon, Serena quickly lifted the mug again, blowing lightly and taking a sip. She braced herself for the bitterness but it never came. Serena let the taste linger on her tongue a little more. She blinked, seeming more invigorated.

Serena lifted the mug, looking at it closely. In the mug's glossy reflection, a smile appeared.

\---

_So, what do I believe to be true?_

_I don't know that I'll ever win a Pokemon Showcase, but I will continue to try. When I say 'try', I always mean 'do my best', because to me nothing else matters if I try my hardest and give it my all. I would rather be bested by someone like Aria if I know she won because she truly is better. While I am sad that I lost, I know deep down I gave my all, and that's all that matters._

_I will always love traveling with my friends. There is so much of Kalos that we've explored, and I know there's so much more left to discover. I owe it to myself to keep going and discover all there is and find more opportunities to become a better person. More than that, I will always love my friends. They are my family, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. I know they love me when they are not around, because I love them too._

_I love my Pokemon. They are all special to me uniquely._

_Braixen will be Braixen and I love who she is, but I will always treasure her as Fenniken, too. We are more similar than I always think, and through each other we learn about ourselves, even through our differences._

_Pancham will always be a troublemaker, but he's my troublemaker. I love him dearly. He can be the voice of reason in his own way, always in a way I never expect._

_And Sylveon... My little Eevee._

_I try everyday to bring out the best in her, but sometimes I have to realize that she's trying to bring out the best in me too. It can be tough to have that back-and-forth._

_And... I'm very sorry for what happened to you..._

\---

"Enjoying your coffee?

"Huh?"

Serena's gaze immediately launched up towards the waitress, her eyes wide and alert. A visibly wired look had appeared in her eyes, making her seem somewhat manic.

The waitress fired back a weird look, but she smiled out of satisfaction. "Glad I could introduce you to something new," she said, chuckling. "I hope it's been a good experience for you."

Serena blushed, swallowing deeply. Shaking off the unusual feeling, she looked back down at her laptop as the waitress walked away. She looked over what she had written on the laptop, the screen having filled up with words. She looked down at her fingers, stretching them gently, feeling the little joints pop as she realized they felt somewhat sore.

Rereading the last line, Serena reached for her coffee. She saw it was only half full now.

\---

_Being honest with things like that is probably the easiest part._

_There also parts of me that are hard to be honest with._

_I don't necessarily plan on becoming a writer, and this isn't me dipping my toe into that. This is me being honest with myself, because it's something that I need more than anything right now._

_Everyday, from now on, I want to be completely honest. I don't know where the finish line is for something like this, but I will be honest from now on, with you and with me._

\---

On the laptop screen, a new screen had appeared. It wasn't the same text document Serena had been pouring over, it was a webpage. In the center of the screen, a big title read 'Thanks for signing up!'.

Down below, Serena clicked the button that said 'Start Your Blog'.

\---

_And I want you to help me be honest. That's why I'm starting this blog._

_My name is Serena, ask me anything!_

\---

The top of the screen showed the title, 'Serena's Blog'. A body of text had been filled with excerpts from the document, edited and neatly organized into paragraphs and thoughts. Serena was just tapping the last few lines out on her keyboards, her eyes narrowed at the glowing pixels that raced along the bottom of the screen.

When she finished typing, she reached for her mug of coffee, finishing what little coffee remained inside. She silently reread the contents of her newest journal.

Then, moving her cursor down to the bottom of the page, Serena clicked 'Publish'.


	14. Chapter 14

"Pana! Chamchamchaa!"

Down by Serena's legs, Pancham hopped along happily, skipping between bricks in the road and trying to stay ahead of Serena as they both walked down between buildings. He spat chunks of green leaf, a lone leaf clamped between his teeth as he chanted incessantly.

Giggling to herself, Serena walked along the street, passing by various tourists and keeping to herself. Her hands had buried deep in the pockets of her red vest. The heels of her boots kicked against the brick road without a thought. She kept her a tad down, watching the brick pass by beneath her, seeing Pancham weave in and out of the corners of her vision. She wore a demure, quiet smile, having found some satisfaction for the day.

"Pikapika!"

Serena's head turned, a look of surprise on her face as she heard a familiar sound. She saw who she had thought she had heard, Pikachu, but saw something completely different.

Pikachu was in a cage, held by a familiar-looking man in a familiar-looking uniform. Serena recognized the trio standing just ahead of her in the road, making her gasp. It was Team Rocket; Jessie, James and Meowth, with Pikachu's cage in James' grip. All three of them stopped, seeing Serena where she was in the middle of the road. Three smirks appeared on all of them.

"Well, look what wandered back," said Jessie, grinning, a hand planted on her hip.

"Seems your friend a rough tumble back there," said James. "I can't say it was all that accidental."

"The both of yous don't woirk so good when yous separated, huh? Seems like yous two have like complementary character traits or something," said Meowth.

Serena gritted her teeth, her hands curling up into fists at her sides. She looked at all of them, seeing their arrogant faces and feeling contempt stir in her stomach. Looking down at the cage in James' hand, she saw Pikachu at the bars, clinging to it with a worried look.

"What did you do to Ash?" Serena asked, her voice loud and commanding.

"Nothing you'd wants to see, sweetheart," Meowth snarled.

"I don't know, I think you're about to get a taste yourself," said James.

"I hear it's an awful lot like what happened to that precious Sylveon of yours," said Jessie, tauntingly.

Serena felt like a vein was bursting out of her forehead. She saw red for a moment, her face flashing with pure anger. She reached into her bag, grabbing a Pokeball, moments before Pancham leaped out from the sidelines of just beside her leg, putting himself between Serena and the Rocket trio.

"Where is he?" Serena shouted, her voice shaking with anger.

"We don't have to answer to yous!" Meowth shouted back.

Down just in front of Serena, Pancham looked back at Serena, brimming with more fury than his tiny body could handle. He locked eyes with her, popping a toothy grin. At Serena's nod, he bore down, scooting his leg back and prepping himself for a sprint.

"Pancham, use Stone Edge!" said Serena, extending her arm towards the Rocket trio.

"Paaanchaaa!"

A cloud of dust kicked up beneath Pancham's paws as he ran at Team Rocket, his arms held at his side. He then leaped up, throwing his arms up, launching himself through the air and pouncing down on the ground, his paw planting powerfully on the brick surface beneath him. A fissure tore through the earth, the ground rattling and sending an ever-growing split through the street towards the Rockets at lightning speed.

Jessie pulled the Pokeball from her utility belt, bearing down towards Serena from across the battlefield of the open street. Her gloved hand gripped the Pokeball, her teeth gnashing between cherry red lips. She sneered, pointing towards Serena.

"Oh, so you wanna battle Pokemon?" said Jessie. "Well, then prepare for—"

She was cut off. The ground split open beneath her, large splinters of rock launching up from the cracked brick and plowing straight into Jessie, James and Meowth. A large thud came, the sound of rocks snapping off as they collided at high velocity. Through the hazy cloud of dirt belched from the open earth, all three Team Rocket members were suddenly flung through the air, hurtling up through the night sky above the street, tumbling up towards the stars.

Midway to the edge of the sky, Jessie blinked in surprise, feeling her body flip aimlessly through the cool evening air.

"Maybe she doesn't need that twerp after all," groaned James, watching the land beneath him getting further and further away.

"That was completely unfair! She should've let me take the first move!" said Jessie. "Aren't there rules for that sort of thing?"

"Whadda we know abouts following tha' rules...?" Meowth whined.

"Not again!" all three shouted, moments before they disappeared in a single flash.

In the sudden expulsion of rock from the earth at the end of the street, Serena had been launched back. She lay in the middle of the street, on her back, covered in tan dirt. Thin clouds of dust hung through the whole street, making Serena cough weakly.

Stiff, sore, Serena slowly lifted herself up, sitting herself up in the middle of the street. The heel of her hand gently massaged her eyes as she blinked away dust. Something nudged at her side and she looked down, seeing Pancham who had come alongside her. Smiling gently, she rested her hand on her head, petting gently, all the while scanning her surroundings. Her smile faded as she remembered what she had fought over in the first place.

The cage that had been in James' hand, the cage that held Pikachu inside, had been thrown from the explosion. The bars had been bashed in, knocked against the road, the metal lid split open. Pikachu was nowhere to be seen.

Worried, Serena quickly sat herself up, nudging Pancham gently out of the way. She winced as she tried putting her weight on her stiff legs, but she couldn't manage, immediately falling back. Letting out a gasp of pain, she reached back for her tailbone, feeling the soreness build from the point where she had landed back. Pancham ran to her side, nudging her leg and babbling up at her. Serena sat herself forward for a moment, catching her breath.

"Pi-ika!"

Looking up, squinting through the swirling dirt, Serena saw Pikachu running towards her, moving quickly on all four short legs over the scattered rubble. Within seconds, he had launched himself full speed into Serena's lap, rolling over and nestling himself against her stomach. He faced Serena with a satisfied smile, sparks of electric energy crackling over his belly.

Serena couldn't help but giggle. She ran her hand between his ears, rubbing his head lightly. By her side, she put an arm around Pancham, pulling them in and hugging close.

"Pikachu! Oh goodness, I was so worried about you!" said Serena.

After a moment of being held close, his tiny arm reaching up towards Serena and participating in the hug, Pikachu wormed his way out from underneath her arms, hopping out onto the brick street in front of her and getting up on his hind legs, looking up at Serena.

Pikachu pointed back, looking past the protruding rock shards and the swirling haze of dirt. He looked back to Serena with a worried look.

"Pikapi!"

Serena looked at Pikachu, then up at where Pikachu was pointing. Squinting, she could see just through a break in the cloud of dirt where the concrete bridge to the Pokemon Battle Center was.

Gasping, Serena looked back at Pikachu. "Ash!" she said.

Ignoring the stiffness in her legs, Serena grit her teeth and got up, her hands pushing off the ground and planting her feet on the ground. After taking a wobbling step, feeling the pain subside, Serena walked quickly, her steps picking up into sprint across the road, quickly navigating around the huge rocks Pancham's move had unearthed.

"Come on!" Serena waved, getting Pikachu and Pancham to follow.


	15. Chapter 15

On the concrete bridge, Ash was hurting. He lay in the middle of the bridge, a gentle indent in the smooth concrete surface surrounding him in the spot where he had landed. Loose debris and rubble covered his blue jacket, his arms wrapped over his torso, clutching at his injured frame. His hat had been knocked back just behind him, his black hair sticking up in bed-headed tufts. He looked up through squinting eyes, trying to keep his eyes open but unable to fight his exhaustion.

Quick footsteps clapped on the bridge, the sounds of someone coming up to Ash. He could barely lift his head to see who it was, but before he could a yellow blur suddenly launched at him. He gasped, feeling a soft, fluffy weight land in the middle of his chest. When he looked up, his face was filled with Pikachu's, looking into his worried black eyes. Ash smiled, looking relieved to see him.

Just a few feet short of Ash, Serena paused, smiling when she saw Pikachu and Ash reunited. Her face faltered when she saw how weak Ash looked, seeing the crater in the ground.

"Pikachu... You got away..." Ash breathed.

"Pika!" Pikachu beamed. Standing up on his hind legs, he pointed back towards Serena, bringing her to Ash's attention.

Ash grinned sleepily, even happier than he had been moments before. He reached an arm out towards Serena, his arm shaking with weakness. His other arm reached up towards Pikachu, scratching beneath his chin lightly.

"Serena... You helped...?"

At Ash's side, Serena dropped down to her knees, more closely looking him over. Every scratch and bruise on Ash's face could be seen, surrounding his sleepy expression. Her features grew worried, her lips pouting as she looked him over, eventually locking eyes with her.

"Ash... What happened? You don't look so good..." said Serena.

Serena's hands had folded together in her lap. Though she was focused on Ash's health, Ash reached his hand over, placing it over where her hands were together. When she looked down, suddenly realizing Ash's hands were on hers, she let out a tiny gasp. Her hands opened up, letting Ash's in, letting Ash's hand work it's way in and hold her hand.

"Ash...?"

Ash squeezed her hand. "Thank you... Serena... For everything. It means a lot to me..."

Serena could feel her cheeks glowing. She shook it off, closing her eyes and pushing on. "Ash, you really need some medical attention. I think there's a hospital at the far end of the-"

Ash shook his head gently. His free hand reached for the ground, helping ease himself up to a sitting position. Pikachu quickly got up, crawling down from where he had been sitting in the center of Ash's chest, watching out of worry as Ash struggled.

Seeing how visibly sore Ash was, Serena came alongside him, using the hand that he held to guide him up, placing her other hand on her back guiding him up until he sat upright. She reached back, grabbing the hat that had fallen back and handing it to him.

"I think I'll be fine," said Ash. Brushing his hair down, Ash fit the hat over his head, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Are you sure? It looks like you got really hurt back there," said Serena, sitting herself back and watching as Ash tried to get to his feet.

Planting his sneakers firmly on the ground, standing up on unsteady legs, Ash held his hands out by his side, doing his best to balance himself. After a moment, watching his legs beneath him, Ash eventually stood himself straight.

Serena stood up alongside him, smiling lightly, holding his shoulders when his posture seemed somewhat unsteady. After a moment, she let him go, easing her hands off of him. She took a few steps back, her hands held behind her, watching as Ash seemed close to the picture of health he was when she had seen him earlier.

"Well, we should probably get you to bed, then," said Serena, still looking worried for him.

Ash turned. He looked up with still sleepy eyes, smiling. "Didn't you want to go to the beach?"

Serena looked dumbstruck. "Beach...?"

"Ikapikapika!" cried Pikachu, leaping up and throwing a fist in the air.

\---

Down at the shore, a wide expanse of sand reached down from the rocky cliffs of Costa Nova's mainland, stretching to the gentle evening tide of the sea. The white, smooth dunes had emptied of tourists, filled with only the occasional Krabby wandering through the sand and several Wingull clustered beneath the palm trees at the bottom of the cliffs.

Serena held herself to one of the palm trees, balancing herself on a single leg as she worked her boots off of her feet, knotting her socks and letting them fall in the sleeve of her boots. She left her boots stacked just around the corner from the concrete stairs, hiding them in some loose shrubs. She removed her red vest and her hat, leaving them with her boots.

The sand felt good between her toes, as Serena let her feet sink further and further into the loose sand. She looked up, having only walked out a few steps onto the beaches before looking back. She watched Ash, fumbling to roll the legs of his pants up while he held his sneakers. She giggled, watching him set his things down and then hurry to catch up with her.

Ash hopped ahead, running down a particularly tall dune, kicking up sand around his legs and sliding down through many of his steps. He nearly stumbled forward as the dune got particularly steep, leveling out just before he reached the pitted, footprint-covered beach.

Serena covered her mouth, giggling as Ash shouted with excitement. She felt the wind kick up and sway the ends of her pink dress, the cool evening wind brushing over her arms and legs. The salty air weaved through her hair.

Down beside her leg, Serena gasped in surprise, watching as Pikachu suddenly ran past her. Instead of climbing down the slope, he only went a little down before launching himself up over the steep dive, landing on a dune beside Ash and knocking up a ton of sand.

Holding her stomach, Serena couldn't help but laugh. She hunched over, feeling a tear come from her squeezed-shut eyes. She watched as Ash, annoyed with the sudden burst of sand, kicked sand back at Pikachu as they jogged down towards the water, moments before Pikachu unleashed a static shock and made Ash flash with energy.

Hearing Serena's uncontrollable laughter, Ash looked back, laughing as well. His feet had landed in the wet sand, only a few dozen feet away from the first waves. He quickly worked his t-shirt off, bundling it up and tossing it back towards the dry sand, before him and Pikachu sprinted towards the sea.

"Serena! Come on!"

Serena finally got her laughter under control, wiping away the tear from her eye. When she looked up, she saw Ash waving to her, beckoning her to come close, just as him and Pikachu ran towards an oncoming wave.

Taking a deep breath, Serena hopped down the dune, running down the steep slope and running towards the sea.


	16. Chapter 16

Down in the Cafe Luxe, again, Serena sipped on her cup of tea. She sighed deeply, looking over the spread on the table: a cup of Chamomile tea with a pot full of steaming water ready for her, a plate of fresh fruit and her favorite strawberry waffles. As she chewed on the end of her fork, her mouth watering as she thought of what to dive into first, she gave a passing look out to the outside, seeing that the sun had barely risen.

It was morning, and the sky was a pale blue. The palm trees swung gently in the cool, sweet-smelling breeze. Serena held her cup close, letting the flowery aroma wander up and serenade her senses as she enjoyed the outdoor scenery. More than anything, it was quiet, and Serena had the outdoor patio all to herself, sitting alone at her table. The inside of the Cafe Luxe had barely any customers that morning, and Serena was enjoying a bit of peace and quiet.

As Serena slid the plate of fresh fruit over towards her, making it front and center on her side of the table, she scooted away the plate of strawberry waffles, making room in front of her. She then slid the laptop over from the side of the table, opening the lid and propping it open in front of her.

A webpage had been opened. Serena could see that a lot of comments had been left on her blog, much to her surprise. She read the first one:

\---

**PerfectPhoenix asks:**

**If you could pick any Pokemon known currently, what kind of team would you build and why?**

\---

"Well well well, if it isn't Serena!"

Serena gasped. She covered her mouth, her cheeks bulging with a fresh chunk of cantaloupe. She recognized the voice, making her look up.

Standing beside her table, Miette grinned. Dressed in simple, summery clothes, she looked down at Serena with arrogant eyes. With a decorative red bag slung over her shoulders, she held a paper coffee cup in her other hand, looking as though she had been vacationing just like Serena had.

Serena finished chewing quickly, swallowing a big lump in her throat that wasn't cantaloupe. She set her fork down, quickly shutting the laptop, looking incredibly embarrassed.

"M-Miette! How'd you...?" asked Serena, totally shocked.

"What, find you here? Come on Serena, Costa Nova is a common stop along the main Kalos loop. It's the last stop before the finals in the Pokemon League! If you haven't picked that up from traveling with Ash, you should've picked up that it's a haven for off-season Pokemon Showcase participants."

"I... Um... I guess I just wasn't expecting to see you!" said Serena.''

"I'm surprised to see you alone," Miette smirked. "Mind if I join you?" she asked, coming around to the chair opposite Serena.

Though Serena's eyes told a different story, she nodded, gesturing towards the seat. "Um... Sure...! Be my guest...!"

Miette set her bag and coffee down, scooting the chair out. To Serena's chagrin, she sat herself closer to her, crossing her legs and sitting back, sipping her coffee quietly. She glanced over Serena's food, her eyes landing on the laptop, giving it a mischievous look. As she looked up to Serena, seeing the conflict and confusion all over her face, her attitude softened.

"You know, I've really missed seeing you around for Pokemon Showcases," said Miette.

"Yeah...?"

"Of course! You're always such a card. That, and seeing you and Ash get closer is such a treat," Miette said, cracking a sly grin, watching Serena from the corner of her eye as she inspected her manicure.

Serena's cheeks lit up, her eyes looking like they were steaming under the heat of her embarrassment. Her knuckles whited around the fork in her grip. Her cordial awkwardness turned to anger, and when she opened her mouth to say something, Miette talked over her.

"Did you drag Ash along with you for the week? You know, if he's free maybe I could see if he'd like to catch dinner. There's plenty of beaches to spend the day with him too, I'm sure he'd love if I modeled my new swimsuits for him."

"Hey!" Serena protested.

Miette laughed. Looking over towards the street, her arm slung over the back of the chair, she took a long sip of her coffee, giggling to herself.

"Oh Serena," said Miette. "You're so much fun to toy with."

"What are you doing here Miette? Are you just going to toy with me all morning?" asked Serena, her tone indignant.

Miette looked back towards Serena, looking 'hurt'. She gasped. "What? I'm just trying to reconnect with my old friend Serena! A girl needs friends, you know."

Serena folded her arms, looking away. "Yeah, I bet you wonder why you don't have any."

Miette blinked, seeming taken aback. "Serena, that almost sounded mean for a moment. No wonder you have Ash under your thumb."

When Miette went to crack a coy smile, she stopped, pausing completely. The look Serena gave her could've been read as a death threat. She took a deep breath, taking another sip of her coffee, looking somewhat demure as she toned herself down.

"Seriously, is that all you want in being here?" asked Serena, still angry. "You just want to keep tormenting me, huh?"

"Well, I was wondering if you were going to answer my question," said Miette, looking up to her with a wondering expression.

Serena blinked. She looked up at Miette, deeply confused. Seeing that Miette was looking at something, she followed the invisible direction of her eyes and landed on the closed laptop. She gasped. Sitting herself back, she turned herself towards Miette, looking over the typically arrogant smile she wore and seeing something new there.

Miette's gaze was piercing, and her smile grew when she realized she had surprised Serena.

"What... What do you mean...?" Serena asked quietly.

"I asked you a question! On your new blog!"

Giving her another confused look, Serena opened the laptop, looking at the screen again. She scrolled down the lengthy list of questions, reading the names individually.

"But... None of these have your name...?"

Miette rubbed her eye. "Serena, you don't use your real name on the internet. Really, you think it's any mystery that I found you so easily?"

Serena gave Miette a nasty look from the side, continuing to read through the list. "Well, then which question did you ask?"

"The first one," smirked Miette. "My name is 'PerfectPhoenix'."


	17. Chapter 17

"That's... That's absurd!" Serena stammered, frowning as she scrolled up and down the comments section, reading through all the different comments and their users. Her eyes kept returning to the first one in the list.

"Why is it absurd, Serena?" Miette, her question sounding subtle and probing at the same time. Her gaze wandered around the cafe, looking as bored as she usually did.

"Because... I mean, 'PerfectPhoenix'? Why that name? 'PerfectPhoenix' sounds like someone else!" protested Serena.

Miette sipped her coffee, rolling her eyes. "It sounds cool. Next question."

Blinking, Serena opened her mouth to ask her next question. She came up short, looking more confused than she had earlier. She shook her head gently, clearing her head.

"Okay, well... Why this question? I mean, you only know me from Pokemon Showcases..." said Serena. "Why... Why not ask something about my Pokemon Showcase arrangement? Why not ask something related to Showcases in general? I just don't understand... I didn't think you someone who would care about Pokemon battles."

Miette sighed, looking annoyed. She shook her head. "Serena, the point of questions is to learn something about you that I didn't previously know. Obviously, we're going to talk about Showcases when we see each other, however infrequently that may be. I've never asked you about Pokemon battles! I just wanted to know your take on it. Besides, maybe I want to make a Pokemon team, who knows? Maybe this is research for me," she said. "Your Pokemon Showcase setup is always too predictable, too simple."

"Oh really? If what I do is so predictable, how come you can't seem to perform better than me?"

"Hey now, I do plenty fine without any of your silly tricks or moves," Miette said, her shoulders tensing up and her hands balling up into fists, a look of anger present on her face. "I am... Creative...!"

Serena just smiled. She took another bite of fruit from her plate, then sipped her tea, watching Miette stew.

"And... Furthermore..." Miette continued, her voice audibly shaking. "What do you have any business questioning my questions? You said 'ask me anything', so I'm going to ask you stuff! Jeez!"

Taking the napkin from her lap, Serena gently wiped her lips, swallowing. She looked up to Miette, smiling lightly. "Oh Miette... 'You're too much fun to toy with'!" she said, imitating Miette's voice at a higher pitch.

"I don't have to take this," said Miette, fuming, taking her coffee and getting up. She eased her chair back into the table, hastily picking up her bag from the floor and slinging it over her shoulder. She lowered her sunglasses over eyes as she walked around the table, stepping into the burgeoning rays of morning sunlight.

Serena scooted away the empty plate that she had cleaned of the fruit, scooting close to her the untouched plate of waffles. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Miette stood close to the table, looking out into the street as she thought about where she was going next. As Serena picked up her knife, sticking the fork in the corner of the waffle, digging into the crisp, golden surface with the knife, scooping on whipped cream and strawberries onto the first bite, she saw Miette come close, leaning over her.

"Come on Serena, just answer my question! It's not a hard one," said Miette. "If you do, I'll let you know which of your friends are which commenters."

Serena paused, about to take the first bite. She thought about it, feeling Miette linger over her shoulder. Looking up, she could see that Miette's smile was genuine, and that she meant it. The put-on, antagonizing look that Serena had disappeared involuntarily, replaced with genuine curiosity.

"Really...?" asked Serena.

"Of course!" said Miette, patting her shoulder. "And make sure your answer is well-researched and well thought-out! If you need me, I'll be having a chat with Ash."

With the fork raised, the first bite of the waffle still on her fork, Serena froze up. Her heart thumped suddenly, her cheeks glowing from within with embarrassment. Her fingers curled, squeezing her fork, just enough to make it bend a bit. When she looked back, Miette was crossing the street, heading off into the streets of Costa Nova.

Serena put the fork in her mouth, eating the waffle. As she chewed, her worries melted away silently.


	18. Chapter 18

The brick edifice of the library stood on a lower level of the elevated island mass, facing the sea in a grassy clearing. The old clay roof and tall windows captured the rustic charm of some of the island's older buildings.

In the upper floor of the library, in the warmly lit alcoves near the back of the many rows of books, several study desks sat shoulder to shoulder with others. The library was silent, largely empty, save for the sounds of distant flipping pages and the muffled sounds of the sea. Alone, Serena sat at one of the desks, facing the lit desk area, hunched over a large tome.

She flipped through dusty pages, reading over thin, fading lines of text and examining old, archaic diagrams of various Pokemon species. The smell of dust and decay came out of every page, with floaty motes of dust catching in the desk light from beneath the shelf. Several books had been set to the side, with old fraying titles like 'The Young Person's Guide to Pokemon Selection' and 'Joules' Introductory Heuristics and Methods of Selection for the Creatures of the Known World', all with various colorful tabs stuck between the pages and hanging out the side, all the same color as a pad beside Serena's wrist.

Rubbing the sleep from her eye, trying to blink away the dust of old, unused books, Serena looked to the opposite corner of the desk. Her laptop sat, the lid closed, the light in the bottom pulsing gently.

\---

_This is a tough question, and I'm only making it harder on myself._

_If I had been asked if how I feel about certain kinds of Pokemon, or to choose from the Pokemon I have, or to choose from the Pokemon that Ash has, I would've spent maybe ten minutes on the question. I would've been grateful for a question like 'what's your favorite Pokemon?' or something else._

_But... I can't decide._

_There's... Too many Pokemon out there. I'm serious! They discover more every year. I love Pokemon because I'm always learning something about them. They always have such surprising traits and they can do things I could never imagine. I would honestly feel guilty to choose, because maybe I'm closing myself off to some Pokemon that could easily become my new favorite._

\---

Serena groaned. Sitting, hunched over her laptop, she ran her hands up through her hair, shaking her head in annoyance. She forced an eye open, looking down between her fingers, forcing herself to reread what she had written.

"Oh, Miette..." Serena scowled.

\---

_At the same time, I really love the Pokemon I've had the chance to meet. I'm grateful! There's... Always something new to discover in them too._

_So, what would make my ultimate team?_

_My first Pokemon will always be Braixen. We've been through a lot and we all trust one another. I think it's important to have a partner that you know and love, someone who you have the best interests in mind for. Braixen is strong, dynamic and creative._

_I like a sense of balance—everyone does. There are Pokemon 'setups' like Fire, Water, and Grass, but sometimes you have to get inventive with the other balancing pairs and trios. If Braixen is my starter, a Fire type, then I want some counterbalance. I want Steel! I want Water, and maybe Flying._

_But, that's not all that makes a team._

_Sure, there are really important criteria like 'balance', moves themselves, having items, an actual strategy. Some of the things like 'attack' vs 'defense', things that Ash talks about, they all get pretty complicated._

_All of those things are nice. Again, they don't necessarily make a team on their own._

_Of course, we're forgetting one key criteria: color coordination!_

\---

Serena sat back from the laptop, rereading her last thought. It brought a smile to her face.

"Now we're onto something...'


	19. Chapter 19

Stacked on the outskirts of the island's more rural locations, where the roads curved to fit the raised and short plateaus of the island and offered scenic vistas of the sea, a coastal cottage stood at the corner, covered in vines and fringe moss. Old, wrought-iron signs hung from the exposed brick and the curvy, puffy-looking stone walls. Tall and thin windows made of soupy-looking, old glass reflected the green and blue of their tropical environments.

Miette watched, quietly, as Slurpuff sat on the elevated brick walls of the grassy terrace leading up to the cottage, holding a daisy in her hands. She watched intently as Slurpuff's swollen fingers reached down and worked their way between the petals of the flower, trying to pluck them one at a time. With each petal flicked away, fluttering towards the ground, Slurpuff attempted to mutter the next line of a nursery rhyme, making out the best she could in Pokemon-ish. Each time Slurpuff failed to pull out a single petal, or pulled out three or four of them at the same time, or forcibly tried to throw the petals down instead of flicking them away, Miette did her best to hold in her laughter.

"No no no," said Miette, listening to Slurpuff struggle through the next part of the nursery rhyme. "It's- ' _Go ahead, wipe those tears away; keep your chin up for another day_ '," she sang, lightly.

"Slurrrpufff..." said Slurpuff, her eyes sinking quietly.

Down the curving, twisted road, Serena's boots clapped like horse hooves as she ran. Her red vest fluttered behind her, her hand forcing her hat down over her head as she felt it nearly fly off several times. Clutched in her hand, her bag bounced behind her, the contents swinging and jangling noisily.

As she sat on the edge of the brick wall, looking up from the shine of her shoes, Miette saw Serena coming down the road. A thin smile came to her as she got to her feet. She looked back, folding her arms, seeing Slurpuff slumping over like a dessert in the sun, clutching the empty, petal-less daisy in her fat paw.

"I was wondering how long it'd be after you posted your last blog post," said Miette, kicking at the crumbling rock between the cobblestone roads. Rocking her shoe up on it's heel, looking past her folded arms, she continued to inspect the shine of her shoes, looking at light scratches and general imperfections with the candy-shell surface.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to keep you waiting," said Serena, taking a few hearty breaths as she slowed to a stop just short of Miette. She ran a hand over her stomach, smoothing her dress, feeling her chest undulate with evenly-paced breathing. Touching just beneath the collar of her neck, just where the blue tie was, she felt her heart thumping steadily.

Unamused, Miette turned, reaching beside the endcap of the brick wall and picking up the resting Pokeball. She pointed to Slurpuff, clicking the button and zapping her back into the Pokeball. The daisy that had been in her hand fluttered away lightly in the breeze.

"So... What did you think of the post? Did you like my answer?" asked Serena, giving a wide and happy smile, looking up to Miette.

Miette turned back, looking Serena over. "It was... Alright."

"'Alright'?"

A few short stair steps lead down to a door, leading to a small basement area beneath the cottage. An old lamp glowed beside the old, wood-braced and iron-studded door, looking like the door to a medieval castle. A sign hung above the door read something in old Kalosian that Serena couldn't quite translate, instead referring to the embossed symbol of an ice cream sundae.

Miette passed down into the shade-filled area, eventually coming to stand in the landing before the door to the place, standing in the alcove just to the side outside the windows. She looked up, watching Serena walk down the middle of the steps, mindful of the vine-covered walls on either side of her.

"I mean, it was a little... You know..." Miette shrugged. "It seemed to have a lot of nice ideas, it just seemed kinda... I don't know... Silly?"

"S-Silly...?" Serena asked incredulously, a blush forming.

Sighing, Miette opened up the door, holding it for Serena. Serena stepped into the shop, walking into a small side area with a gumball machine and a newspaper stand. The smell of candy hit her immediately, smelling like light and sugary sweets, combined with the chilly sensation of an active, large freezer. Looking back, she saw Miette walking close behind, having pulled out a blue version of Serena's folding Pokedex.

Before Serena could say anything, Miette, cleared her throat audibly, pausing for a moment as her eyes wandered over the tall screen of her Pokedex, reading. She put on a light smile, her eyes fluttering closed as she poised herself like an actress about to recite her lines.

"'Should I then, perhaps, choose my team based on the moods that I feel throughout each and everyday'?" read Miette, her tone and pitch changing to mock Serena's 'dreaminess', making her sound delusional. "Perhaps now as I travel day-to-day and only wear a certain set of clothes, a certain colorful and tonal 'mood', should I expect that when I am home and in the comfort of a diversity of clothing options, that I will pair my Pokemon with my clothing choices for the day?"

"I... Um..." Serena swallowed, waving away the thought and giggling nervously. "Okay, maybe I got a little flowery with that paragraph... How are you reading that from your Pokedex? Don't you need like a-"

"And how! Such a diversity of choices can confound and vex even the most careful and considerate of the fashionable," said Miette. Her grin had grown to unsettling, Cheshire-like proportions, watching as Serena melted with embarrassment before her eyes. "Thus, to unleash the ironic creative freedoms of limitations, I must impose the criteria of my character, as such the answer to this question most properly and effectively, vanquishing this intellectual beast of a question. I must effectively decide what it is that is lacking in my character, finding ways to partner effectively and make myself whole—through the means of Pokemon, of course."

"Okay, I think I get it..." Serena laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Pokemon... To end the dregs of my moral shortcomings..." said Miette, seeming out of breath from speedily reading through the last 'stanza' of Serena's blog. Her head tipped back, her hand falling gently over her brow as she gave a dramatic, performed sigh. Her whole body flopped back gently, her arms falling to her side, her whole body slouching back in practiced exhaustion. "Such thoughts torture the soul... Such inevitable doubts of character... Should I wonder if this moral quandary, this desire to answer the questions of my very soul by choosing a new set of Pokemon... Is it a thought that seeks to destroy the very forces of nature that harmonize my current comforts and extremities in life? Is it a thought that seeks to continually tear apart what is good and natural for me...?"

"Miette... I didn't write that..."

Miette twirled on the tip of her toe, her leg kicking her off and spinning like a ballerina. She took dramatic steps one over the other, slouching down onto the floor, dropping to her knees, her hand falling out in front of her as she hung her head, then looked up to Serena in dramatic pleading.

"May I never experience such intellectual dregs again! Oh, the woe of what I have inflicted upon me," sighed Miette. "May I be condemned to the questions of others for the rest of my pitiful existence!"

"I kinda liked it."

Both Miette and Serena turned, looking into the main area of the shop, just around the short wall of the entrance, looking to the source of the new voice.

A long, silvery table stretched down through the center of the shop, lined with simple vinyl stools. Overhead, lights glowed, hanging from the curved spackled ceilings. Simple memorabilia and decorations lined the walls. The pulsing, watery inlays of a jukebox glowed with secondary colors, complimenting the low, grooving oldie music.

Serena backpedaled lightly, walking away from the strange scene with Miette. Looking directly across from her, on the other side of the long table, Shauna was sitting at a stool, beaming.

"Hi Serena!" said Shauna.

Serena gasped, brightening up from her embarrassed outlook moments earlier. She blinked several times, unable to believe they were even in the same room. Watching as Shauna hopped off her stool, hurrying around the length of the table, Serena hurried into the main area of the shop, meeting with Shauna moments later, pulling her into a tight hug. Even though Shauna was smaller than Serena, her hug nearly squeezed life out of her, right after immediately squeezing all the breath out of her.

"Jeez Serena! It's been way too long!" said Shauna, giggling lightly.

Serena lost herself in the moment, beaming with a smile that reached ear to ear. After a moment, her squeezed shut eyes popped open, suddenly realizing something.

"Shauna... What are you...?" Serena turned, looking back at Miette, who stood just outside the entering alcove. "Is Shauna one of the people you were talking about? People who had asked questions on my blog that you were going to introduce me to?"

Miette nodded quietly. She smiled coyly, walking with her hands held behind her back, giving Shauna a knowing look.

"Oh gosh... Is everyone in on this?" asked Serena. She quickly set her bag up on the vinyl stools, opening the top of the bag and pulling her laptop out. She set it on the counter, opening the lid, waking the machine.

Shauna giggled, coming alongside Serena. As Serena opened up her blog, flipping through comments, she looked to Shauna.

"Which one did you...?" Serena began to ask. She was cut off, as Shauna suddenly pointed at the screen.

\---

**Aquamimi123 asks:**

**Serena, have you tell ash that you love him?**

\---

" _Aaahh_ -!"

"Yep! That's me!" said Shauna, looking proud of herself, hands on her hips and a confident look on her. "Aquamimi123!"


	20. Chapter 20

Down in the shop beneath the cottage, Serena sat at the long table on one of the many vinyl stools, leaning over the table, listening as Shauna chatted happily about her adventures. Shauna was making a scene, physically building it as she waved her hands and made all sorts of crazy gestures and faces, delving into details about adventures she had been on. As Serena giggled, listening to Shauna's rant, Miette was looking less amused, watching with bored eyes. Every so often, she cracked a coy smile, and eventually she joined in with Serena on the cacophonous giggling.

One of the ladies in the shop came along, interrupting the conversation, bringing a round of three tall milkshakes on a silver platter. Once the drinks had been set, straws administered, red cherries plucked from the whipped cream tops, the conversation soon picked up again.

But without any words.

The conversation was muffled, trapped beneath a pane of glass as it was observed from the outside.

Across from the cottage, a few brick buildings lined the ridge with their backs to the sea and their storefronts facing the road. Just beside it, a tall, lone tree stood on the grassy ridge above the sea with three sets of binoculars sticking out of the tufty green leaves, all pointed at the window of the shop beneath the cottage, watching as Serena conversed with the two others.

"This blog is causing quite a stir, at least among the bratty bunch," Jessie seethed, her lower lip quivering with resentment. She lounged on the lowest branch, her boots kicked up behind her.

"It's certainly given the she-twerp a chance to break away from the rest of them," said James, sitting on a branch just above Jesse.

"Where's Pikachu?" said Meowth, on the tallest branch.

"This isn't about Pikachu now, Meowth," said James. "Not everything has to do with Pikachu."

"What? Everything has to do's with Pikachu!" said Meowth, annoyed. He lowered his binoculars, looking down at Jesse and James, where they lounged on branches beneath. "If we's aren't looking after Pikachu, we might miss a chance to gets him! That's the whole reason we's are out here in foist place!"

"Will you shut up about Pikachu, you clod?" Jessie snapped, looking up at Meowth. "We need to focus on bigger issues, like all this internet fame that twerpette is getting. That's all attention that could be going towards me."

"Well, why don't yous just starts a blog then and starts writing about yous 'feelings', maybe while we're chasing Pikachu!"

"A blog? Don't be so blase, Meowth. Blogs were unpopular as soon as twerpette got one," said Jessie. "I intend to be the best commenter on her blog, asking only the best questions and delving deep into her psyche. I intend to steal the show right from under miss 'Ask Serena's' feet by exposing her for what a truly, agonizingly boring person she is, and by showing what an intelligent, witty soul I am."

"Jessie has already bombarded twerpette with a firestorm of scintillating questions," said James. "The character assassination has begun!"

Jessie seemed to be in another world with her eyes shut and a dreamy, wicked smile spread across her face.

"She's such a fool to think this won't be her undoing," Jessie laughed, in the midst of her reverie. "I will ensure that every last question that I ask her, no matter how subtle and how seemingly innocent, will be just one more device used to bring her to complete and utter destruction!"

"Well, then lets take us a look at these questionses here, and-" Meowth was cut off. James had handed up an open, old, beaten laptop to him, which Meowth quickly picked up and set on his branch in front of him. His wide, oval eyes narrowed on the glowing text, when he spotted the question.

\---

**ringsandamiss007 asks:**

**Why did you dress up as Ash and why were you smelling his scent on his clothes?**

\---

"'ringsandamiss007'? What kind of names's that?" 


	21. Chapter 21

"My goodness Serena, it certainly seems that you've bitten off more than you can chew this time," said Miette, giggling.

Serena frowned, working the tall straw pinched between her fingers through the creamy contents of her milkshake, mixing up clumps of ice cream before she finally put the straw between her lips. She sipped silently, ignoring Miette, letting the bright, savory flavors of salted caramel hit her.

On the other side of the table, Shauna looked on, looking between Miette and Serena as their silent exchange went on, smiling awkwardly. With her arms folded and resting against the metal surface of the table, she looked at her own strawberry milkshake, the tall sculpted glass standing tall and frosty, half drained of it's delicious creamy contents. She listened to the gentle, grooving music in the background, letting her leg bounce in time to the music beneath the table.

Miette was enjoying herself too much, quickly working down a cookies and cream through a wide straw, sipping happily. She set the empty glass back on the counter, looking across at Serena, grinning ear to ear.

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you again, I think I've given you enough trouble for today."

"Did you really not like my answer?" Serena finally spoke up, breaking her awkward, enforced silence. She looked up at Miette, watching as she got off of her stool.

Miette paused for a moment, seemingly taken aback by the thought. She stopped, finishing slinging her bag over her shoulder, thinking to herself.

"Serena, you listed eight possible teams based on coordinating with your outfit. I happen to know you a little better than you think I do. It just seemed disingenuous. I felt like if you were honest, you would have a much more interesting and succinct answer, not hiding behind walls of... Weird, dubious ideas."

The answer cemented Serena to her stool. She stopped completely, looking up at Miette and meeting eyes with her.

Miette's expression eventually faltered. The annoyed, critical look slowly faded, replaced with a more somber, disappointed one. Eventually she found herself looking past Serena instead of at her, having to look back up at Serena purposely. Her awkward posture, caught between staying and leaving, eventually changed to leave. She adjusted her bag over her shoulder, her feet planting more evenly on the ground as she walked.

"I'll see you around," Miette said quickly, leaving.

Lifting her straw from the soupy remains of her milkshakes, Serena scowled, trying to do anything to distract herself from Miette's footsteps and the eventual closing of the door in the background. The old red stem of her cherry hung on the clumpy end, and Serena picked it out, flicking it across the shop. Her head rested in her hands as she looked at the milkshake in annoyance, stirring quickly with her straw.

"That Miette can be so fickle," she sighed.

"Serena, is something wrong?"

Serena looked up from the table, looking at Shauna. The frown plastered on her faltered, the stirring straw in her hand slowing to a complete stop. She took a breath and sat herself up.

"It's just... Miette can be such a pain," said Serena. "She's so... Demanding. She just loves to torment me, and it's just... Aggravating!"

Shauna gave knowing nod, smiling reassuringly. "I totally get that," she said.

"Shauna, you seem to be 'in' on this, at least a little bit... What's the point? Is Miette just out to humiliate me? Am I just some plaything for her?"

Shauna's smile turned awkward. "Well, if I had to guess, Miette is trying to teach you something, or at least she things she is."

Shaking her head, Serena scooted her milkshake to the side. She tabbed at the ring of moisture on the table with her napkin. "And what a help she's been," she sighed.

The stool creaked as Shauna shifted uncomfortably. Her green eyes looked ahead and bore into the wall with a thoughtful stare. Her lips twisted up into a frown.

"Well... She's kinda right, you know..."

Serena blinked. She looked over at Shauna incredulously, meeting with her blank stare.

"What do you mean...?" asked Serena.

"Well," said Shauna, "Miette seems to think you're not exactly 'ready' for what comes after starting a blog, especially—well, you know—what with the format that you have. Every little thing about you is under your own microscope."

"Well, yeah, but so what?"

"So people are going to poke and prod, like you're their—"

"Like their plaything," Serena finished. It took her a moment to process what she was saying. She swallowed audibly. She was looking down, visibly dejected. The stool she sat on swung gently beneath her without a thought.

Seeing Serena's dejection made Shauna lurch, looking conflicted and visibly searching for an answer or some method of cheering her up.

"And... I mean... That's just one way of looking at it, you know?" said Shauna, searching for some sort of response in Serena's eyes.

"I don't know know Shauna..." said Serena. "Maybe I don't know what I've gotten myself into."

"Serena, I think Miette thinks very highly of you."

"That's not funny."

"I'm serious!" Shauna protested. "I don't think Miette's the kind of person who would even bother to visit if she didn't respect or even care about you."

Serena paused quietly, looking more reflective than unsettled.

"And honestly," said Shauna, a bit more eagerness in her voice as she found a place to start with Serena, "I think Miette challenges you to bring out the best in you—in the both of you! I'm dead serious!"

"I don't think she's exactly showing affection," scowled Serena. She folded her arms beneath her, remaining hunched over and looking away.

"Serena, don't be that way."

"Well, I'm sorry, but Miette hasn't been making a convincing case for herself lately."

Looking around the empty shop as Serena sighed again, Shauna seemed to be mentally debating with herself. Cursing beneath her breath, shuffling again, Shauna found her words. She returned her attention to Serena, a look of resolve appearing.

"Wanna test it?" asked Shauna.

"Huh? What do you mean? How?"

Shauna grinned, coyly. "Well, you can start by answering my question."

Serena looked over. "What question did you—Oh no..." Serena said, visibly wilting. Any semblance of hope she had slowly faded as she slumped forward, her head hanging down.


End file.
